Global leaders, celebrities, individuals and businesses from
190 countries and territories came together on Saturday, 28th March, to lend
their support for the planet. A people-led movement, Earth Hour 2020
beautifully exemplified the resilience of the human spirit amid a crisis.
At a time when people across the globe are battling a health
crisis of an unforeseen scale, and many countries are under complete lockdown,
supporters rose to the challenge of marking Earth Hour with online events.
Earth Hour 2020 generated over 3 billion social media impressions globally and
its related hashtags trended across 37 countries on Twitter and Google search,
making it one of the most successful online events.
Many renowned public figures, environmental activists and
celebrities from across the globe supported Earth Hour 2020 to draw attention
to the nature and climate crises. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Pope
Francis, environmental activist, Greta Thunberg, Canadian Prime Minister,
Justin Trudeau; Indian film star Amitabh Bachchan, UN Environment Goodwill
Ambassador Dia Mirza, Kenyan singing sensation Nikita kering, Colombian model
Claudia Bahamon and British Singer Songwriter, Cat Stevens were among the many
public personalities who participated in Earth Hour this year.
Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF International, said,
"The success of this year's Earth Hour is a testimony to the incredible
human spirit and the power of collective action. At a time when the world is
facing an unprecedented challenge in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, the
need to unite and make our voices heard for a more harmonious relationship with
the planet has never been greater. People from across the globe responded to
this call for action by coming out in support for protecting the planet, and
inspiring others to commit to halting nature loss with innovative online
campaigns and events. I truly applaud their unflinching commitment for a
sustainable future. As Earth Hour 2020 comes to a close, I urge you all to
continue to work in solidarity with each other to safeguard the future of our
planet. Let's look after one another and our one shared home.''
As a symbolic gesture of support to Earth Hour 2020, over
100 iconic buildings including the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, Sheikh
Zayed Grand Mosque, Tokyo Skytree, Brandenburg Gate, the Colosseum in Rome,
Taipei 101, Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower, Beijing National Stadium, the Ali
Qapu Palace, the Hellenic Parliament in Greece, YTN Seoul Tower, Panama Canal,
Moscow Kremlin, Tower Bridge in London and the Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong,
switched off their lights, to invite urgent action against nature loss and
climate change. Additionally, millions of people around the world switched off
the lights of their homes in solidarity with the movement.
Earth Hour 2020 mobilized people across continents to raise
their voices on environmental issues affecting their nations.
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