© Ahmed Sameer © Ahmed Sameer On 29th of March, 2014, Earth Hour celebrated its 8th anniversary. Once again, Earth Hour called on the world to unite and demonstrate the necessity of taking action against climate change by switching off their light for one hour. This year, Earth Hour’s impact was record-breaking worldwide, reaching over hundreds of millions of people in 162 countries in over 7000 cities. Famous landmarks all over the world switched off for the hour, such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Golden Gate Bridge in California and a new landmark this year - the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Turkey. Beyond the global switch off, Earth Hour called for an amplified, multiplied and powerful hour through the launch of a new platform “Earth Hour Blue”. 2014 marks the UAE’s 7th year participating in Earth Hour; and as darkness swept over the 7 emirates on the night of 29th March 2014, the world’s tallest building, the UAE’s Burj Khalifa and the iconic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque switched off in support of the hour. Residents also participated in an amplified Earth Hour in response to EWS-WWF’s call to not only to switch off for the hour, but also to switch to energy efficient lighting as a first step towards long term impact and change. Andy Ridley, the CEO of Earth Hour commented on how the crescendo of Earth Hour made 2014 to be one of the most influential year yet. “It is a fairly wild experience to watch as countries and cities from around the world start to share their plans for the night and beyond the hour, each story builds momentum and inspires other teams to share and do more. For me, 2014 is the most important year in the project’s history as we see so many campaigns multiplying the effect of everyone’s efforts 2014 is the biggest and most important Earth Hour ever!” Earth Hour Blue is an all-new digital platform for the planet launched in 2014 to capture the power of the crowd and engage people around the world beyond Earth Hour. Earth Hour Blue calls people to add their voice to some of the biggest environmental campaigns across the world! Success Stories; . Singapore - Using the Earth Hour platform, $20,000 were raised to ‘Stop the Killing’ in South East Asia. With these donations, WWF- Singapore can kick start their attack on wildlife crime, and help save the lives of animals and the rangers who protect them. Australia - Earth Hour Blue helped raise awareness and encourage the public to fight for the iconic Great Barrier Reef from climate change and mega port developments. Ongoing Projects; • Light up a Village – WWF Uganda are raising money to turn on the lights of some 600 homes in Uganda. • Lampedusa Turtle Project – Help WWF Italy to support the Lampedusa Sea Turtle Center which faces constant challenges • Switch on for Mali - Campaign helping to raise funds for water tanks and solar powered equipment to provide sustainable alternatives to villages in Fiji. For more information on ongoing projects, please visit www.earthhour.org Abu Dhabi Sharjah ©AlAinClubInvestmentCompany © FatimaAlzaabi All 7 Emirates participated and with an anticipated reach of approximately 5.5 million across the UAE, the Earth Hour movement in the UAE continues to gather pace year on year. Dubai Dubai Al Ain Fujairah ©TaimurKhan ©AlAinZoo Landmarks Many of the UAE’s landmark buildings also switched off all non-essential lights. Leading the list were several prominent landmarks such as the Burj Khalifa, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Hyatt, Emirates Palace, Etihad Towers and the Burj Al Arab. Burj Khalifa ©Saeed Nassouri © NataschaMehrabi Emirates Palace © Saeed Nassouri Burj Al Arab Etihad Towers © ErikaHoonhaut ©IqbalPallam In the lead up to Earth Hour 2014, EWS-WWF launched a local call to action encouraging corporations and individuals to Get Enlightened and “Make the Switch to energy efficient lighting. The Earth Hour team designed a new Earth Hour Pack for EH2014 that included all the information you need to #MakeTheSwitch and participate in Earth Hour. It was used as a great way to engage with employees, customers, and communities to show genuine commitment to help build a sustainable future and pioneer positive environmental change. *All proceeds from the sale of the pack will go to EWS-WWF’s work on climate change and energy including the Earth Hour campaign. Contents of the Earth Hour pack: • An Earth hour t-shirt • A CFL energy efficient light bulb • A card kit with information about how to switch to energy efficient lighting • A reusable cloth bag to wrap everything up! As part of Earth Hour UAE 2014, the community rallied around the ‘selfie’ phenomenon by posting photos of themselves with energy efficient bulbs on social media. Taking a ‘selfie’ was a fun and impactful way to ensure residents © EWS-WWF could support the cause, spread© EWS -WWF awareness and do more than switch off for just one hour. Helping to inspire more people to make a sustainable change in the UAE were a host of our very own local superhero ambassadors. HH Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Ali Al Nuaimi (also known as the Green Sheikh) tweeted his support for Earth Hour Olympian Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum was one of our great Earth Hour 2014 Ambassadors in the UAE. She said: “I’m proudly supporting Earth Hour 2014 and encourage the whole of the UAE not only to turn off the lights for the hour, but to make the switch to energy efficient lighting for the good of our country and our planet.” © Ziad Shrayteh Several people used their influence to help amplify the message of Earth Hour. The list includes Emirati adventuress Samia Al Mudhareb, Virgin Radio’s DJ Kris Fade, show jumper Abdulla Al Marri, Olympian Samira Al Bitar, Rashed Al Rashdi, student George Zacharia and DJ Bliss. These ambassadors supported Earth Hour on social media, in media interviews, promotional videos and photos whilst also reaching out to their own circles of followers to inspire environmental change. © DJBliss © Samia Al Mudhareb © George Zacharia © Samira Al Bitar © RSB – Abu Dhabi Thanks to the support and Khalifa Park – Abu Dhabi commitment from our partners Municipality and the UAE community, many events were organised to celebrate the hour. Below you will find some of the highlights. Abu Dhabi • Khalifa Park Hosted by Abu Dhabi Municipality, Earth Hour was © KulsoomZakir celebrated in Khalifa Park with an evening of music and dance, counting down to the Hour. Yoga© on Moath the NBeachoor – Fairmont Bab Al Bahr • St.Regis at Saadiyat Island • Abu Dhabi Corniche Family Park • Al Ain Zoo • Fairmont Bab Al Bahr • Monte-Carlo Beach Club © FairmontBabAlBahar • Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan Art of Living – Abu Dhabi • by Rotana Corniche Family Park • Marina Mall © EWS-WWF © EWS-WWF © AOLPhotographer Key events: Dubai Amwaj Rotana – Concert in the Dark • Bay Avenue in Business Bay The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority organised an activity packed event. The countdown was followed by an Earth Hour walk, which took place throughout the Hour. © KrishnaSundaragopal • Fairmont the Palm Earth Hour celebration – Sofitel Hotel • Amwaj Rotana • Jumeirah Rotana © EWS-WWF • Sofitel Hotel © RohitSalunke © HSBC © EWS-WWF HSBC volunteers at Business bay event_ Key events: Sharjah Sharjah Event – Al Majaz Waterfront • Al Majaz Waterfront This event was hosted by the Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) Key events: Fujairah • Fujairah City Center © FatimaAlzaabi Fujairah Municipality celebrated Earth Hour in Fujairah City Center Sharjah Event – Al Majaz with Fujairah residents. Waterfront Sharjah Event – Al Majaz Waterfront © FatimaAlzaabi Fujairah Event – Fujairah City Center © FatimaAlzaabi Fujairah Event – Fujairah City Center © AishaAlyammahi © AishaAlyammahi In a YouGov survey of 1,202 UAE residents, results show that 75% of respondents have heard of Earth Hour, with 60% of these people planning to participate in Earth Hour 2014. This figure has grown since last year, when only 54% planned to take part. Facebook Highlights . 2.5 million reach through an EWS-WWF Facebook campaign Twitter Highlights • 5.5 million impressions on Twitter • Over 2.89 million accounts reached with Earth Hour related hashtags #earthhour , #EarthHourUAE and #EarthHourDubai were trending on Twitter Featured Earth Hour Articles in: Broadcast: - Al Ittihad - Al Bayan - Al AanTV - Sama Dubai - Emarat al Youm - CNBC Arabia - Gulf News - Studio One - Malayalam News - Virgin Radio 104.4 - Khaleej Times - Radio 1 - The National - Radio 2 - Channel 4 104.8 - 7 Days - Noor FM - Abu Dhabi Weekly - Al Arabiya - Al Wahda - City FM - Timeout Dubai - H FM - Alroeya - The Gulf today Total Ad Value (AED): 6,449,514 Online Earth Hour Articles in: English: 3,046,896 - Expat Woman Arabic: 3,402,618 - Emirates247.com - Emaratiya.com Total Ad Value via - Alkhaleej.ae Broadcast (AED): - Timeoutdubai.com 331,779 - Godubai.com - Dubizzle - Mideaster.com - Dubaicityguide.com - Uaetoday.com - Thenational.ae - Akhbar.alaan.tv - Arabstoday.net - Gulftoday.ae DUBAI Al Maha Arjaan Rotana Burj Khalifa New York University Abu Dhabi Downton (Emaar Properties) St. Regis Saadiyat Island Fairmont Hotel Hyatt Capital Gate Hotel DIFC TwoFour54 buildings Raffles Hotel National Bank of Abu Dhabi Dubai Airports Fairmont Bab Al Bahr Traders Hotel Shangri - La International Tower Standard Chartered Bank Tower Jumeirah Emirates Towers SHARJAH Dubai Municipality HQ Dubai Festival City Le Meridien Hotel and Spa Al Qasba - Eye of the Emirates Sheikh Rashid Tower Khan Corniche Grosvenor House Clock Tower Jumeirah Beach Hotel Al Qasba Mosque Rose Rayhaan hotel University