New York City’s Empire State Building is seen lit up before Earth Hour in 2011
© Eric Thayer/Reuter
Lights out for Earth Hour. Here’s why landmarks are going dark
Buildings around the world will go dark for 60 minutes this evening in a voluntary event known as Earth Hour. This grassroots effort started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, and has since grown into a global movement to raise awareness of our energy consumption and the effects of climate change on our planet. Anyone can participate by switching off the lights at 8.30pm local time. Last year, close to 18,000 landmark buildings switched off their lights in 188 countries, making for some rare photo-ops at places like the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower. This shot of the Empire State Building was taken moments before all its lights were turned off for Earth Hour celebrations in 2011. Will you dim your lights tonight?
Related Images
Christmas lights in Carnaby Street, London
Blue walls of Chefchaouen, Morocco
Cherry blossoms over the Meguro River, Tokyo, Japan
At the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum for the Ides of March
For Science Fiction Day, inventor Nikola Tesla and his ‘magnifying transmitter’
Fireworks at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento for Las Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain
The Crown of Light installation at Durham Cathedral, during the 2013 Lumiere Durham festival
The catalogue and enquiries stall at the Women's Exhibition, London, May 1909.
Bing Today Images
Demoiselle cranes, India
Mar 30, 2026
Peacock feathers
Mar 30, 2023
Belted Galloway cows in Galloway
Mar 30, 2022
Detail of an ostrich fern in spring, Washington, USA
Mar 30, 2021
A European crested tit weathers a storm in Scotland
Mar 30, 2020
The Vestibule at Diocletian's Palace, Split, Croatia
Mar 30, 2018
West Bow in Edinburgh, Scotland
Mar 30, 2016
