Hollywood stars Jamie Foxx, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone will join a record 350 organisations in celebrating Earth Hour 2014 on Saturday to mark their commitment to reduce carbon foot print and save the planet. The trio, stars of upcoming movie Amazing Superman 2, has already arrived in the city and has been wowing crowds at various promotional events.
The organisers of the event, WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) Singapore, said the number of participants has nearly doubled from last year's record 183 organisations, with over 350 organisations planning to switch off their lights on Saturday.
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Singapore buildings to participate in Earth Hour
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Spiderman has been designated as Earth Hour's global superhero ambassador and his presence in Singapore is set to make it the global flagship event of Earth Hour celebrations around the world this year. The stars will help switch off the lights across Singapore's famous Marina Bay skyline from 8.30pm for an hour on Saturday.
The Float at Marina Bay will be the epicentre with more than 5,000 people expected to assemble. It promises several 'fun things to do' for the youth, 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!" reads a poster.
Over 60 structures dotting the Marina Bay skyline, several of them iconic, will join a global community of national monuments around the world in switching off their lights in support of the environmental campaign.
Besides the main event, several neighbourhoods across Singapore such as Jurong, West Coast, Hong Kah, Tampines and Simei are planning their own community gettogether events during the lights off hour.
Government agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority and National Environment Agency are actively supporting the event alongside corporates such as Ikea, Fairprice, Singapore Post and SMRT.
"It's heartening to see Singapore come together to show that conservation can be possible on a large scale to make a difference ," said Elaine Tan, CEO of WWF-Singapore.
Going beyond the symbolic switch off, WWF has asked participants to make four pledges beyond the lights off. These are to raise air conditioning by a degree, use lower energy LED lights, fewer plastic bags and shorter showers. About 20,000 pledges are expected this year in Singapore.
Over 345 million people across 154 countries, businesses and governments around the world participate each year to support
Earth Hour. Famously started as a lights out event in Sydney in 2006, Earth Hour is now in 7,000 cities and towns.
Though born in Sydney, Singapore has now become the home of this social movement, both online and offline.
