Singapore, 26 March 2014 – WWF-Singapore today announced that Singapore has broken its Earth Hour 2013 with over 350 organisations pledging with WWF to switch off their lights to mark their commitment to save the planet. At this time last year, 183 organisations had done so, with a total of 350 pledges received by the end of the campaign. Pledges are still coming in and a total count will be released at a later date.
Earth Hour takes place from 8.30pm for an hour on Saturday, 29 March. This year will see Singapore become the global flagship event for Earth Hour celebrations around the world, as the country prepares to welcome Spider-Man, Earth Hour’s global Super Hero ambassador and the director, producers, and star cast of the highly anticipated motion picture The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Spider-Man will join the film’s stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Jamie Foxx in helping to switch off the lights across Singapore’s signature Marina Bay skyline.
Over 60 iconic structures dotting the Marina Bay skyline will join a global community of national monuments around the world in switching off their lights in support of this year’s campaign, which empowers people to “Use Your Power” to save the planet. These structures include the Marina Bay Sands, ArtScience Museum, Merlion Park, Marina Bay Financial Centre, Marina Barrage, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, and the three tallest buildings in Singapore – One Raffles Place, Republic Plaza and United Overseas Bank Plaza.
Other global icons taking part in the symbolic switch-off this year include the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Burj Khalifa in the UAE, La Cupola di San Pietro at the Vatican, and the Kremlin and Red Square in Russia.
“It’s heartening to see Singapore come together to show that conservation can be possible on a large scale to make a difference, with everyone from individuals to businesses participating in the symbolic lights off ceremony, as well as turning up their air-cons by one degree, switching to LED lights, using less plastic bags and taking shorter showers,” said Ms. Elaine Tan, CEO of WWF-Singapore. “With our collective power, Singapore can help drive adoption of green and sustainable practices while ensuring we remain one of the most liveable and responsible global cities in Asia.”
Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Chief Negotiator for Climate Change, Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “I am happy to know that WWF-Singapore is encouraging the power of the individual, and is actively promoting simple lifestyle changes that we can all do to make a difference to combat climate change. Encouraging people and organisations to turn up their air-conditioning by one degree or switching to energy-efficient lighting is also aligned with our efforts to promote energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. I hope more Singaporeans will make these lifestyle changes to reduce their carbon footprint not only during Earth Hour but every time that they can.”
“As the focal point of Earth Hour celebrations across the world, Singapore can take pride in the fact that it has powered real world outcomes through individual actions and contributing to the Earth Hour Blue crowdfunding platform,” said Andy Ridley, CEO and Co-Founder of Earth Hour. “As the home of Earth Hour, Singapore is at the heart of the rapidly growing digital presence that has helped see Earth Hour spread to 154 countries and territories and over 7,000 cities and towns.”
As part of making Singapore’s Earth Hour the focal point of Earth Hour celebrations around the world, WWF-Singapore also plans to put the need for sustainable energy sources and use into action through a fun activity – Energy Floors. Twice the size of last year’s dance mat at Earth Hour, members of the public are welcome to dance on the colorful Energy Floors, which convert kinetic energy from their footwork into electricity.
This year’s Earth Hour celebration in Singapore will be graced by Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Chief Negotiator for Climate Change, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the event will coincide with the culmination of Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) i Light Marina Bay 2014, making this year’s Earth Hour celebration in Singapore a remarkable visual treat.
Local acts lending their support to Earth Hour Singapore as part of this year’s celebrations include world-class dance and percussion performances by the LuMen Dancers, Superfly Monkey Dragons Parkour group and the Invincible Diamonds Cheerleaders. Homegrown bands participating include Rose Kasmani and Masia One + Inverse Proportions. Admission to the event, which starts from 5.00pm, is free.
Earth Hour 2014 in Singapore has been made possible with the support of URA – the Official Venue Partner for The Float@Marina Bay, National Environment Agency (NEA), National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) and Marina Bay Sands, the Associate Partner for Earth Hour 2014.
The Major Sponsor for this year’s Earth Hour campaign in Singapore is Singapore Post, while IKEA and NTUC FairPrice are the Sponsors. The Official Radio Stations are Hot FM91.3, Kiss 92FM and UFM 100.3. Media partners are Clear Channel, StarHub, SMRT and SMRT Media. Other partners include Energy Floors, Kevin Ou Photography, Leica, The Singapore Scouts Association, The Hoffman Agency, VeganBurg and Yahoo! Singapore, the Official Online Partner for Earth Hour 2014.
To pledge your commitment to turning the air-conditioning up by one degree, switching to LED lighting, using fewer plastic bags and taking shorter showers, please visit http://earthhour.wwf.sg.
For a full list of participating organisations for Earth Hour 2014, please visit: http://earthhour.wwf.sg/2014/participating-organisations/
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Annex A: Buildings in the Marina Bay Area Switching Off For Earth Hour Singapore 2014
Notes to Media: 5 Things You Need to Know about Singapore’s Earth Hour 2014
1. The cast of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is coming to Singapore to celebrate Earth Hour on Saturday, 29 March 2014. That’s Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx, together with the director and producers of the show.
2. Spider-Man will be there for the Official Lights Off Ceremony, putting Singapore at the heart of Earth Hour celebrations around the world
3. There will be fun things to do, like watching live performances by the LuMen Dancers, Samba Masala and the Invincible Diamonds Cheerleaders. You can even show off your dance moves on Energy Floors to generate electricity!
4. All this happens at The Float@Marina Bay from 5.00pm – 10.00pm
5. Admission is FREE! This means everyone is welcome to spend time with Spider-Man at Earth Hour!
Media Contacts:
For all media queries on Earth Hour and WWF-Singapore, please contact Wai Yi, Miko and Qi Hua from The Hoffman Agency at (65) 6361 0250 or wwfsg@hoffman.com.
About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a global environmental movement of WWF. As one of the first open-sourced environmental campaigns, Earth Hour has grown from a symbolic event in one city into a global movement, crowdsourcing actions from individuals, businesses, organisations and governments to generate environmental outcomes. In 2014, the Earth Hour Blue sees the movement enter the most exciting stage of its evolution, to be at the forefront of crowd funding and crowdsourcing for causes, innovation and creativity for the planet.
About WWF
WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations, with almost five million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
ANNEX A
Buildings in the Marina Bay Area Switching Off For Earth Hour Singapore 2014
No. Organisation
1 ArtScience Museum
2 Asia Square Tower 1
3 Asia Square Tower 2
4 Bank of Singapore Centre
5 CapitaGreen
6 Capital Tower
7 Central Mall Conservation
8 Central Mall Office Towers
9 City House
10 Conrad Centennial Singapore
11 Equity Plaza
12 Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay
13 Fairmont Singapore
14 Fuji Xerox Towers
15 Gardens by the Bay
16 Golden Shoe Car Park
17 Helix Bridge
18 HSBC Building
19 Income at Raffles
20 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Singapore Branch (ICBC Singapore), Head Office
21 King’s Centre
22 Mandarin Oriental Singapore
23 Manulife Centre
24 Marina Barrage
25 Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1
26 Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 2
27 Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3
28 Marina Bay Sands
29 Marina Bay Suites
30 Marina Mandarin Singapore
31 Maybank
32 Merlion Park
33 Millenia Tower
34 OCBC Centre Central
35 OCBC Centre East
36 OCBC Centre South
37 Ocean Financial Centre
38 One Finlayson Green
39 One George Street
40 One Marina Boulevard
41 One Raffles Place Tower 1
42 One Raffles Place Tower 2
43 One Raffles Quay
44 OUB Centre Limited
45 OUE Bayfront
46 Pan Pacific Singapore
47 Prudential Tower
48 Raffles City Tower
49 Raffles City Tower
50 Republic Plaza
51 Singapore Flyer
52 Singapore Land Tower
53 SingTel
54 Six Battery Road
55 Straits Trading Building
56 Suntec Singapore
57 Swissôtel Merchant Court
58 Swissôtel The Stamford
59 The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
60 The Westin Singapore
61 Twenty Anson
62 UOB Plaza One
63 UOB Plaza Two
