On Saturday (28) at 8.30pm local time global icons including Sydney Opera House, the Acropolis, the Bird’s Nest stadium in China, the pyramids of Giza, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and Big Ben were plunged into darkness for one hour for the largest global action on climate change ever. The idea was that hundreds of millions of people switched off their lights for WWF’s Earth Hour – to call for urgent action on climate change as the world’s leaders start talks in Bonn at the UN today.
3,943 cities and towns in more than 88 countries took part in Earth Hour, including 70 national capitals and 9 of the10 most populated metropolises on the planet. 100 cities and towns in the UK, from London, Belfast, Cardiff, and Edinburgh to Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol and Birmingham joined in alongside more than 1000 schools and nearly 700 businesses. UK landmarks which took part included: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, the Gherkin, Nelson’s Column in London, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the entire quayside in Newcastle, Stormont in Belfast and Edinburgh Castle.