Editing Colorado Springs, Colorado (section)

==Sister cities==
{{See also|List of sister cities in Colorado}}
[[File:ArstanbekNogoev.jpg|thumb|[[Bishkek]] mayor [[Arstanbek Nogoev]] presents a gift for Colorado Springs mayor [[Lionel Rivera]] to a US airman at [[Manas Air Base]], in a ceremony aimed at reviving ties between the two sister cities.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nathaniel |first=Daniel |date=March 19, 2007 |title=Manas Airmen reunite sister cities Bishkek, Colorado Springs |work=Air Force Link |publisher=Department of Defense |location=United States |url=https://www.af.mil/News/story/id/123045348/ |access-date=October 18, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011043026/http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123045348 |archive-date=October 11, 2007}}</ref>]]
Colorado Springs' [[sister cities]] are:<ref>{{cite web |title=Colorado Springs Sister Cities International |url=https://coloradosprings.gov/sistercities |access-date=October 24, 2024 |website=coloradosprings.gov |publisher=City of Colorado Springs |archive-date=September 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918120916/https://coloradosprings.gov/sistercities |url-status=live }}</ref>
*{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Fujiyoshida]], [[Yamanashi Prefecture|Yamanashi]], Japan (1962)
*{{flagicon|TWN}} [[Kaohsiung]], Taiwan (1983)
*{{flagicon|KGZ}} [[Bishkek]], Kyrgyzstan (1994)
*{{flagicon|MEX}} [[Nuevo Casas Grandes Municipality|Nuevo Casas Grandes]], [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], Mexico (1996)
*{{flagicon|AUS}} [[City of Canterbury-Bankstown|Canterbury-Bankstown]], Sydney, Australia (1999)
*{{flagicon|GRC}} [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]], [[Peloponnese]], Greece (2014)
*{{flagicon|SVN}} [[Kranj]], Slovenia (2022)
;Suspended sistership
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Smolensk]], [[Smolensk Oblast]], Russia (1993–2022)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-springs-ukraine-smolensk-sister-city|title=Colorado Springs Suspends Sister City Partnership With Russian City|website=[[CBS News]] |date=March 7, 2022 |access-date=July 13, 2023|archive-date=March 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326025538/https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-springs-ukraine-smolensk-sister-city/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Colorado Springs's sister city organization began when it became partners with Fujiyoshida. The ''torii'' gate erected to commemorate the relationship stands at the corner of Bijou Street and Nevada Avenue, and is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. The [[Shinto|''torii'' gate]], crisscrossed bridge and shrine, in the median between Platte and Bijou Streets downtown, were a gift to Colorado Springs, erected in 1966 by the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs to celebrate the friendship between the two communities. A plaque near the ''torii'' gate states that "the purpose of the sister city relationship is to promote understanding between the people of our two countries and cities". The Fujiyoshida Student exchange program has become an annual event.<ref name="tomodachi">{{cite web |title=TOMODACHI NAJAS Grassroots Exchange ProgramーColorado Springs and Fujiyoshida |url=http://usjapantomodachi.org/programs-activities/2016-2017-tomodachi-colorado-springs-fujiyoshida-grassroots-exchange-program/ |access-date=April 19, 2020 |website=TOMODACHI |archive-date=January 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105164125/http://usjapantomodachi.org/programs-activities/2016-2017-tomodachi-colorado-springs-fujiyoshida-grassroots-exchange-program/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2006 and 2010, the Bankstown TAP (Talent Advancement Program) performed with the Youth Symphony and the Colorado Springs Children's Chorale as part of the annual "In Harmony" program.<ref name="tomodachi" /> A notable similarity between Colorado Springs and its sister cities is their geographic positions: three of the seven cities are near the foot of a major mountain or mountain range, as is Colorado Springs.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 6, 2007 |title=City of Colorado Springs – Topic Pages |url=http://www.springsgov.com/Page.asp?NavID=1923 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514161758/http://www.springsgov.com/Page.asp?NavID=1923 |archive-date=May 14, 2008 |access-date=October 5, 2009 |publisher=Springsgov.com}}</ref>