The Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York City, even the world's tallest building the Burj Khalifa; the most visually captivating icons around the world will go dark at 8:30PM local time on March 31 for Earth Hour 2012.
This year, Earth Hour will also extend to space for the first time where, aboard the International Space Station, astronaut and WWF ambassador Andre Kuipers will experience Earth Hour watching over the planet for the European Space Agency (ESA). The sight from space should be spectacular - lights going dim across the globe, from one consecutive time zone to the next as more than a billion people in over 135 countries participate in the largest global voluntary action on climate change.
For the 4th consecutive year Qatar will be a part of Earth Hour. Several organisations, notable among them Movenpick Hotel, The ONE, HSBC and Q-Tel who have been participating since 2009, will be joined by Qatar University, the Sheraton, the Four Seasons, the Intercontinental, Qatar Building Company and even the Pearl as they switch off their lights to show their support.
The local Earth Hour team will be organizing an Earth Hour Unplugged event in Qatar this year. As lights of the Khalifa Torch Tower and all over the Aspire Zone are switched off at 8:30pm, Qatar's youngsters will have the opportunity to come together at Aspire Park for a fun-filled hour of music, entertainment and a chance to get involved in efforts to protect the planet. This event is open to the public, and youth are encouraged to arrive before 7:30pm.
As one of the pioneer organisations to embrace the hour of darkness in Qatar and as the main sponsor of the official Earth Hour event in Qatar, Abdul Hakeem Mostafawi, CEO of HSBC in Qatar said: 'As a global supporter of WWF's Earth Hour, HSBC sees this campaign as an effective and symbolic way to raise awareness among our employees, customers and the wider public of the continued importance of consuming global resources responsibly. We understand the value of the world's eco-systems to continued economic development and we want to play our part in protecting these resources."
Attending an event is not the only way that people can participate in Earth Hour. Simply by switching off their lights for the hour, households and organizations can be part of this unique annual event.
Diego Pinzon, Chief Commercial Officer of The Youth Company, who are providing volunteer & logistic support to the event said: "Earth Hour is a great initiative, which motivates people to change their habits to be more sustainable. By supporting Earth Hour, The Youth Company is eager to spread the awareness, especially among the younger generations that small actions can create big positive change."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has confirmed that the headquarters of the United Nations will be switching off as he urged the rest of the world to take part," Turning off our lights is a symbol of our commitment to sustainable energy for all, we need to fuel our future with clean, efficient and affordable energy."
Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia in 2007, when more than 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights out for one hour to take a stand against climate change. The initiative quickly evolved to become a global environmental movement of solidarity in which millions of people across the world recognized the importance of protecting the planet.
Earth Hour 2012 will take place at 8.30pm - 9.30pm on Saturday 31 March
Watch the 2012 Earth Hour video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FovYv8vf5_E
Images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthhour_global/sets/
Official Website: EarthHour.org
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/wwfearthhourqatar
Downloadable video footage of the global event will be available for media on the night at http://www.earthhour.org/media-centre/videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/earthhour/featured
Images of landmarks switching off and global Earth Hour events will be available at
http://earthhour.org/media-centre/images
Media Contact:
Janice Trindade, Earth Hour Qatar, earthhourqatar@yahoo.com +974 66573763
Leanne Manchanda, Earth Hour Qatar, leane.manchanda@gmail.com, +974 55213431
About Earth Hour Qatar
Earth Hour is a global environmental initiative in partnership with WWF and Leo Burnett. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 31, 2012 at 8:30 PM to show their support for environmentally sustainable action. In 2012, Earth Hour's I Will If You Will concept invites individuals and organisations to challenge others to an ongoing environmental commitment beyond the hour. Earth Hour began in one city in 2007 and by 2011 reached over 1.8 billion people in 135 countries across every continent, receiving reports as 'the World's largest campaign for the planet'.
© Press Release 2012
