Lights went out at Sydneys Opera House and Harbour Bridge on Saturday for Earth Hour 2009, a global event in which landmarks and homes go dark for an hour to highlight the threat from climate change. In Asia, lights at landmarks in China, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines also dimmed as people celebrated with candle-lit picnics and concerts.
"Its been a great success. I wasnt expecting so many people to come down and witness the blackout of the CBD," Carine Seror, Singapore Earth Hour campaign manager for global environment group WWF, told Reuters.
Buildings in Singapores business district went dark along with major landmarks such as the Singapore Flyer, or giant observation wheel. Australia first held Earth Hour in 2007 and it went global in 2008, attracting the involvement of 50 million people, organisers say. WWF, which started the event, is hoping one billion people will take part this year.
"The primary reason we do it is because we want people to think, even if it is for an hour, what they can do to lower their carbon footprint, and ideally take that beyond the hour," Earth Hour executive director Andy Ridley told reporters at Sydneys Bondi Beach.
Nearly 90 countries are taking part this year, some for the first time, including China, which has overtaken the United States as the worlds top greenhouse gas emitter. Organisers said several new countries signed up in the hours before the event, which aims to encourage people to cut their energy use and curb greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels.
In the Vatican, the dome of St Peters Basilica will go dark, as will Egypts Great Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and New Yorks Empire State Building. Other global landmarks that will switch off the lights include the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the London Eye and the Birds Nest Stadium in Beijing.
Organisers said the remote Chatham Islands was the first place where supporters turned the lights off for an hour at 8.30 pm, followed by New Zealand and Fiji. Lights at Sydneys Opera House and Harbour Bridge were switched off at 8.30 pm (0930 GMT) to the sound of horns on the harbour, with supporters holding candle-lit dinners to watch the event. "We are sitting here near the harbour. There are about 60 or 70 people here having a picnic," an Earth Hour spokesman said. In Melbourne, supporters organised a bicycle-powered concert.
"GLOBAL ELECTION" Organisers are calling Earth Hour a global election, with switching off the lights a vote for the Earth and failure to do so a vote for global warming.
Nearly 20 Chinese cities were participating, involving hundreds of buildings including Olypmic venues the Birds Nest Stadium and Water Cube, the official Xinhua news agency said. In the Thai capital, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva switched off the lights at Khao San Road, Bangkoks bustling, "backpackers ghetto". Lights were also due to go out at Bangkok landmarks such as the Grand Palace and Temple of the Dawn.
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