The big switch-off
From Samoa to London and the Cook Islands: world switches off for Earth Hour
Millions of people around the world took part in WWF’s global annual phenomenon, Earth Hour, tonight on Saturday 23 March. The 60 minute switch off, which began in Samoa and will end in The Cook Islands, saw over 7,000 towns and cities in over 150 countries taking part this year.
A host of exciting activities started this year’s global Earth Hour such as special themed night rides in Fiji to candlelit concerts in Iceland.
London kicked off Earth Hour with its very first live streamed event from The Southbank Centre where pop band McFly performed an exclusive acoustic set dressed in panda onesies. This was their amazing finale to a series of special challenges they carried out in the run up to Earth Hour.
Then at 8.30pm local time people across the UK were able to tune in and see key London landmarks such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and London Bridge plunge into darkness for one hour to show they care about the future of our planet.
Global Earth Hour footage and imagery is available here:
http://www.earthhour.org/page/media-centre
UK on the night pre-recorded and live streaming content can be viewed here:
Prime Minister, David Cameron said: “Earth Hour is a good example of what can be achieved when communities come together to take action and is a reminder that we all have a part to play in tackling climate change. I supported the initiative back in 2011 and last year Number 10 took part, this year I’m pleased to say that Number 10 and many more Government buildings have been involved.”
Around the globe iconic landmarks such as The Empire State building, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China all switched off. Earth Hour even attracted the attention of Canadian Astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield who tweeted from space that he would observe Earth Hour around the world today.
Earth Hour hit its founding city, Sydney, where in an unusual twist the Sydney Opera House was lit up green, in celebration of its commitment to switch on to renewable energy.
So much has been happening around this year’s event. We have:
- Switch offs from key London and UK landmarks confirmed: Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, BFI Imax, The London Eye, Edinburgh Castle, Brighton Pier, Durham Cathedral, Windsor Castle and many more!
- Celebrity support, with McFly taking part in an ‘I Will If You Will’ challenge and Graeme Le Saux promoting our Hidden Heroes competition. We’ve also had exclusive recipes designed especially for Earth Hour by celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Raymond Blanc, as well as exclusive audiobooks from Rudyard Kipling’s famous children’s tales from the ‘Just So’ series read by WWF ambassadors Kevin McCloud, Miranda Richardson and Alistair McGowan.
