Just four days out from the global lights-out event, Earth Hour 2011 has reached record participation, with 131 countries and territories registered to take part, on all seven continents, with all G20 countries, thousands of cities, and iconic landmarks and public figures set to join with hundreds of millions across the world to celebrate action for the planet.
This Saturday, 26 March, at 8:30pm local time iconic landmarks across the globe will go dark for Earth Hour including:
• The world’s tallest building – Burj Khalifa, Dubai
• Empire State Building, Nw York
• Times Square, New York
• Christ the Redeemer statue, Brazil
• National Monument, Indonesia
• London Eye
• Eiffel Tower, Paris
• India Gate, Delhi
• The Alhambra, Spain
• National Mausoleum, Pakistan
• Boudhanath Stupa, Nepal
• Table Mountain, South Africa
• Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
• The Obelisk, Argentina
• Milad Tower, Tehran
• Duomo, Milan
• Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates
• Davis Station, in Antarctica
• Jet d’Eau, Geneva, Switzerland
• Opera House, Sydney
• Presidential Palace, Lima - world heritage site
• Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
• Parliament Palace in Bucharest, Romania
• Queen’s Palace, Madagascar
• Government House, Hong Kong
• Royal Castle, Sweden
• Denmark’s Kronborg Castle
• Santa Maria del Mar Basilica, Spain
• Royal Palace, Thailand
• China World Trade Centre Tower 3 (the tallest building in Beijing).
• Presidential Palace, Indonesia
• Niagara Falls, Canada
• Hanoi Opera House, Vietnam
• Rembrandt Square, Amsterdam
• The Merlion, Singapore
In 2010 hundreds of millions of people across the world, in 4,616 cities, in 128 countries and territories took part in Earth Hour, but switching off the lights was only the beginning. This year Earth Hour asks people to go beyond the hour, and use Earth Hour to commit to an action, big or small, that they will sustain for the future of our planet.
“Earth Hour is a chance for people and communities across the globe to join together with the common purpose of a sustainable future for our planet,” said Andy Ridley, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Earth Hour. “This year Earth Hour asks people to commit to an action, big or small, for the coming year, taking Earth Hour beyond the hour.”
Among the thousands of cities taking part in Earth Hour 2011, many have already committed to taking action beyond the hour for Earth Hour including:
• Sydney, Australia where actions include switching to LED lights in parks and streets
• Medellin, Colombia where long term water protection and tree planting initiatives form part of a commitment that goes “beyond 60 minutes”
• Shenyang, China where 38,000 hectares of land will be reforested
Also supporting Earth Hour 2011, and committing to taking action beyond the hour, are the following high profile ambassadors:
• Model Miranda Kerr, who has committed to buying local, organic produce to reduce her ecological footprint
• Wasim Akram, a Pakistan cricket legend, who has made a commitment to stop using plastic bags, recycle and reuse, and use his high profile to promote and encourage the same behaviour throughout Pakistan and the rest of the world
• Pocoyo, an animated TV series that will reach out to its millions of preschool-aged fans across the globe over the next year, to inform children about environmental issues
• Li Bingbing, the Chinese acting/singing sensation, who has committed to being vegetarian for 100 days this year
• Actor Verne Troyer who will go beyond the hour this year by replacing all the light bulbs in his home with energy efficient lighting
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