24 MARCH – Yesterday, at 8:30 pm local time (23rd March), millions of people around the world united for the 18th year of Earth Hour in support and celebration of our planet. As of today 6:00 AM GMT, supporters from more than 180 countries and territories collectively contributed over 1.4 million hours, making this year's Earth Hour the biggest hour for Earth yet, with many more hours to follow as celebrations are still happening in many places.

Key public figures participated, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, Colombian actor and influencer Sebastian Villalobos, Colombian model and presenter ⁠Claudia Bahamon, K-pop Super Junior Choi Siwon, Hollywood actress Kate Walsh, Bollywood actress Ananya Panday. Other notable figures included Chinese actor Zhu Yilong, former Cameroonian professional footballer Roger Milla, world renowned table tennis Olympian Deng Yaping, ⁠Paris Saint-Germain football club, United Nations Environment Programme - and many more.


This year’s Earth Hour served again as a beacon of positivity, hope and inspiration in an increasingly divided world as it rallied millions around the world, bringing old and new supporters to the cause. Earth Hour invited everyone, everywhere to unite and find the most enjoyable ways to ‘give an hour for Earth’ through its Hour Bank, a refreshed interactive online platform that aims to make environmentalism accessible, fun and personally meaningful. 


Out of the 1.4 million hours, people around the world gave more than 208,000 hours to reconnecting with nature through their love of fitness, outdoor and arts; over 248,000 hours to restoring our environment with their love for food and sustainability; over 703,000 hours to learning more about our planet through edutainment, and more than 261,000 hours to inspiring others and close to 45,000 hours to other creative ways to care for our planet - all while doing the things they love. 


Across the world, a host of global landmarks also took part in Earth Hour’ iconic switch off moment including: the Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Tower, China's Ordos City, Beijing National Stadium, Taipei 101, skyline of Hong Kong Victoria Harbour, Namsan Seoul Tower, Shah Faisal Mosque, India Gate, the London Eye, the Colosseum, Vatican Basilica, the Brandenburg Gate, Eiffel Tower, Middle of the World Monument, Empire State Building, Niagara Falls, the UN Headquarters, and many more.


António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations said: “The need is urgent. Our climate is collapsing. Last year was the hottest ever. Earth Hour is a global show of solidarity for taking a different path. It demonstrates the power each of us has in the fight for our future.”


Kirsten Schuijt, Director General, WWF International explained: “As Earth Hour comes to a close, we reflect on the incredible impact of millions uniting to champion our planet's health. To truly unite millions across the globe, our priority is that Earth Hour expands beyond its already massive pool of current supporters and engages with individuals who have not been involved yet. Protecting our planet is a shared responsibility and it demands collective action from every corner of society.    Together, we've ignited a beacon of hope, illuminating the path towards a sustainable future. The  1.4 million hours given to earth shows how environmentalism can be accessible, enjoyable, and personally meaningful.”


Earth Hour will take place next year at 8:30 pm local time on Saturday 22 March 2025.

ENDS

Photo above © WWF-Colombia

NOTES TO EDITOR: 

This year’s #BiggestHourForEarth was also made possible with partners and supporters worldwide, including its first-ever International corporate partner Epson Seiko, for its ‘Saving Energy - its a simple switch’ campaign, World of Scouting Movement and many other global collaborators such as Unsplash, Pocoyo, YMCA, among many others. Below are highlights of WWF’s Earth Hour events and activations around the world:

 

  • WWF-Poland mobilised celebrities and volunteers to raise awareness and advocate for improved river management, prompted by an eco-catastrophe on the Oder river that claimed the lives of over 215 million organisms in 2022. Through social and online initiatives, alongside a switch-off event in Warsaw, the campaign garnered

support for a petition for changes in the ministry overseeing river management in Poland, while urging communities across the country to take action to clean up their local waterways. 

  • WWF India organised Earth Hour activities throughout the country that included beach clean-ups, yoga sessions, nature trails and cyclothons/walkathons to promote the benefits of being outdoors and using sustainable transportation. For the first time, they hosted an all-day Earth Hour Festival in Delhi, which featured book readings, a screening of the Oscar-winning film "All that Breathes," and a live art session by the celebrated artist Anjolie Ela Menon. Amplifying the campaign are the Earth Hour India 2024 Goodwill Ambassadors: Renowned actor and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza, and Sports icon and Olympian PV Sindhu. 
  • The WWF Regional Office for Africa engaged sports superstars to promote the importance of environmental conservation and use their social power to inspire the people to come together and give an hour for Earth. Athletes included Tanzanian footballer Juma Kaseja, Zambia women's national football team captain Barbra Banda and many more.
  • WWF-Japan collaborated with TBS Radio, the nation’s flagship radio station, to host its biggest Earth Hour 2024 event in Tokyo. The event featured radio recordings of an Ogiue Chiki ‘Session’ bringing together famous comedian Naoki Tanaka, Senior Writer of Asahi Shimbun, Toru Ishii and Miss Earth Japan 2011, Tomoko Maeda. Actress Renge Ishiyama and the popular Japanese Jazz/Ska band, The SKAMOTTS, also graced the event in celebration of Earth Hour’s switch off at LaLaPort Toyosu, a large shopping site in the Tokyo Bay area.
  • WWF-China was thrilled to announce the City of Ordos as the epicentre for Earth Hour 2024 festivities. Centred around the theme of ’Green, Low-carbon, High-quality Development’, they hosted a thought-leadership seminar featuring experts from WWF-China,, alongside two esteemed academicians of The Chinese Academy of Science and The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Public activities of engaging sustainable actions were stationed at various hotspots in the city of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xi’an, Wuhan and Changchun. In addition, more than 100 cities across the nation joined the switch off, and for the first time ever, all public landmarks in an entire city, the City of Ordos, switched off to show their support for a brighter future for our planet.
  • WWF-US in collaboration with WWF Australia recruited the help of live online streamers to support Earth Hour this year, titled ‘Stream 60 for Earth’.  The initiative invited the streaming community to contribute to the hour banking effort, by streaming for at least 60 minutes between Earth Hour and Earth Day, with the goal of raising vital funds and awareness for WWF.
  • WWF-Bolivia spotlighted recycling and waste management during Earth Hour, hosting activities focused on circular economy, waste reuse, plastic reduction, and urban cleaning efforts. More than 35 central events happened across over 35 cities and 130 youth organisations were involved in the Earth Hour celebrations.
  • WWF-Ecuador highlighted the impacts of plastic pollution across the country, with initiatives pushing for policy changes and involving youth groups in environmental conservation efforts during Earth Hour. Activities included beach clean-ups, photo exhibitions, rap battles around the theme of plastic, a display of sculptures made out of plastic waste and other activities to inspire action against plastic pollution in cities like Quito, Guayaquil, Manta, Puyo (in the Amazon) and the delicate ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands.
  • WWF-Tanzania took Earth Hour to the highest peak on the African continent this year, with a dedicated team trekking Mount Kilimanjaro to highlight the urgent environmental issues that the nation is facing. They also hosted beach clean-ups, turning the waste they collected into an art installation to drive awareness on the pressing issue of plastic pollution and remind people to take action. As the country with the youngest population in the world, they also mobilised  youth around the importance of environmental stewardship through a series of competitions and workshops, in the hope that they become the changemakers of tomorrow.
  • WWF Philippines and the Manila City Government have teamed up for the country’s "Switch off Plastic Pollution, Give an Hour to Earth" campaign, urging the public to switch off appliances and lights to combat plastic pollution. This Earth Hour initiative features an NGO fair, a virtual run hosted by the renowned online running and fitness community, Pinoy Fitness, and a collaboration with this year’s Music Ambassador for Earth Hour, Pablo.

 

For more information, please contact: news@wwfint.org 

Supporting assets

 

About Earth Hour 

Born in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to become the world's largest grassroots environmental movement, inspiring individuals, communities, businesses and organisations in more than 190 countries and territories to take actions for our planet. 

Earth Hour 2024 aims to create the Biggest Hour for Earth with its call-to-action “Give an hour for Earth”. It encourages participants from all walks of life, around the world, to share their commitment to the planet by dedicating one hour to fun, and planet-supportive, activities. From learning about nature by watching documentaries to embracing eco-friendly practices and sustainable diets, there is something for everyone. This serves as a rallying cry for the unprecedented collective action needed to address pressing environmental challenges. Visit www.earthhour.org to find out more about the activities that happened during this year’s Earth Hour. 

About WWF

WWF is an independent conservation organisation, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth'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. Visit www.panda.org/news for the latest news and media resources and follow us on Twitter @WWF_media.