EVENTS

SA cities celebrate Earth Hour in the dark

Earth Hour was celebrated by millions around the world and South Africa was no exception. The event was marked in five major cities and dozens of local authorities throughout the country.

In Cape Town, around 2 000 guests at a free concert in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront watched as the massive spotlights went out on the city’s iconic landmark, Table Mountain, then revelled in a candlelit concert with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and performances by marimba group Ethnic Rhythm and other musicians. A host of well known celebrities mingled at 221 Waterfront Restaurant, including Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille, Tammy-Ann Fortuin, Jo-Ann Strauss, Alex Boraine, Francois Groepe and Ntokozo Mbuli.

The darkening of Table Mountain was webcast to millions around the world as a statement on the need for action on climate change.

In Joburg, the lights on Nelson Mandela Square went out, throwing the statue of its namesake into silhouette as Elana Afrika, the Grammy award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir and rock band The Black Hotels entertained guests. In Durban, Port Elizabeth and Pietermaritzburg, a number of landmark buildings were switched off.

Earth Hour 2009 has been labelled as the world’s biggest largest community event, with nearly 4 000 cities, towns and municipalities taking part.

More than 30 local authorities, from Abbotsdale to Yzerfontein followed suit.

To generate the energy required to power the Cape Town concert, a two-day Cycling Challenge saw teams pedalling bicycles connected to generators, as well as solar panels generated the necessary electricity for the concert.

Dr Morné Du Plessis, CEO, WWF South Africa, said: “I think most people grasp the notion that switching off some lights for an hour won’t save enough electricity to reverse our impact on the planet. Instead, Earth Hour aims to demonstrate the massive global support for action on climate action, particularly among lawmakers at the upcoming conference in Copenhagen later this year.”

In South Africa more than 110 000 people signed up their support. Further, based on the reduced electricity consumption during Earth Hour, ESKOM estimates that the equivalent of 1 million South African households participated. Consequently, we estimate that between 1 and 4 million South Africans participated in the event.

Some of the great cities of the world went dark on 28 March. These include London, Beijing, Washington DC, Rome, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Athens, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Manila, Las Vegas, Brussels and Helsinki.

Landmarks around the planet that were darkened included the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Merlion in Singapore, the Sydney Opera House, CN Tower in Toronto, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the world’s tallest constructed building Taipei 101.