Posted on March, 27 2010

The largest Parliament building in the world - the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, and the tallest statue of the Virgin Mary in the world, situated near Haskovo in Bulgaria, were among world landmarks that switched off lights for Earth Hour today. Monuments of Nikola Tesla, father of commercial electricity, sported oversize Earth Hour t-shirts in Serbia.

With official support of over 160 cities across the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Ukraine, Earth Hour was observed by thousands of people in the region.

In Romania, lights were turned out on the Parliament Palace, one of the biggest buildings in the world and certainly the largest parliamentary building. It consumes in one hour what a household consumes in a year. Or what a small town of 20,000 people consumes in one hour. The lights at the Parliament Palace were turned off by Luminita Tanasie, the Director of WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme Romania, together with Roberta Anastase, the president of the Romanian Chamber of Deputees and H.E. Robin Barnett, British Ambassador to Romania.

Other notable buildings to darken included the Romanian Athenaeum, the Romanian Opera House, the National Theatre in Bucharest and the National Art Museum.

37 Romanian cities, including Bucharest, celebrated Earth Hour this year. 9 out of the 10 largest cities in Romania showed their support. As buildings plunged into darkness, candle-lit shows, stargazing and unplugged concerts were the events the Romanian towns and cities chose to hold during Earth Hour.

Prior to Earth Hour, Romania and Bulgaria joined forces to bring about an exclusive video link event between the two countries. Entitled “Low carbon economy – business opportunities and challenges”, the event was organized by WWF, the British Council and the British Embassies in Sofia and Bucharest.

“We want to raise awareness among the business, as tackling climate change requires a transition to a low carbon economy,” said Konstantin Ivanov, Head of Communication and Marketing at WWF in Sofia. "Many companies are taking up the opportunities climate change brings by finding innovative solutions, while increasing their production volumes and profits”.

In Bulgaria, on the night, a procession of people carrying candles and lanterns marched across the central part of Sofia, afterwards enjoying an acoustic concert in the heart of the city.

In Sofia, the buildings of the National Assembly, The National Palace of Culture and Bulgarian National Bank amongst many others were darkened for the occasion. 44 Bulgarian cities took part in Earth Hour. Lights went out on administrative buildings, historic monuments and public spaces to show support for Earth Hour.

The 32-metre-high statue of the Mother of God and the Infant Jesus on the Hill of Youth near Haskovo, southern Bulgaria, became the tallest statue of the Virgin Mary in the world to get shrouded in darkness for Earth Hour. Inaugurated in 2003, the statue is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, patron saint of Haskovo. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest monument to Our Lady in the world.

In Ukraine, capital Kiev led 16 other cities in observing Earth Hour for a second time. In Kiev, lights went out on the busy Kreschatik boulevard and the historic orthodox Christian Kievo-Pecherskaya monastery. The historical centre of Odessa, including the Opera and seaside boulevard, were also shrouded in darkness. All day long, in Kiev, people could watch movies in the city park, broadcast using alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and energy received by pedaling electro bicycles.

Some 50 restaurants from the popular chain “Kozyrna Karta” welcomed people for a candle-lit dinner throughout Ukraine. In the city of Poltava, the Society of Astronomy invited local people for a “street astronomy” event to do a bit of star-gazing with the lights out.

In Serbia, Belgrade’s Eco Musketeers once again moved into action just before Earth Hour. Armed with convincing arguments and Earth Hour promotional materials, they asked passers-by to switch off the lights at 8:30. In special Earth Hour boxes they collected messages for the authorities about the need to tackle climate change.

The Eco Musketeers gathered by one of the central monuments of Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943). A national icon and one of the fathers of commercial electricity, Tesla was ‘recruited’ as an Earth Hour ambassador because his way of thinking and research was closely inspired by our planet.

The Nikola Tesla monuments also sported Earth Hour t-shirts.

In Serbia’s second largest city, Novi Sad, Earth Hour crowds congregated at the historic Petrovaradin Fortress. At the Planetarium there, visitors were treated to a lecture on climate change and invited to gaze at a brighter set of stars. 42 Serbian cities supported Earth Hour.

In the Czech Republic, Earth Hour took place for the first time. 25 cities and towns were signed and various companies, including IKEA, Ernst and Young, PWC, LaSalle. One of the most interesting cities was the city of Telč with its historical town-square, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In the second biggest city, Brno, Špilberk castle turned off its lights. 10,000 people in the Czech Republic supported Earth Hour on Facebook.