Earth Hour, scheduled for today at 20:30, will be marked this year in digital format, after the cancellation of numerous initiatives on a global scale due to the situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Even so, several municipalities in the Algarve and Baixo Alentejo, which joined Earth Hour, are going to turn off the lights on public buildings and monuments.
«In light of the latest developments, the Earth Hour organizing team has canceled all physical events, and recommends that all individuals stay and at home and participate in the digital Earth Hour», reads the Portuguese website of the Movement Earth Hour.
Earth Hour's appeal is that on Saturday, March 28, everyone turns off or dims the lights between 20:30 pm and 21:30 pm, and use those 60 minutes to engage their online communities.
The movement points to the "exceptional circumstances" caused by the new coronavirus and calls for everyone to participate "safely", from home.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life from the covid-19 outbreak and our thoughts are with families who have lost loved ones or who are ill. In this time of crisis, we must come together more than ever to safeguard our future and the future of our planet. It's a moment of solidarity and that's why Earth Hour will be marked by digital events around the world», said Marco Lambertini, general director of the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF).
In Portugal, Associação Natureza Portugal (ANP) canceled the in-person event it was going to organize in Gaia, turning it into a digital moment. Thus, Portugal will participate in Earth Hour 2020 inviting its ambassadors Mónica and Rubim, Chef Fábio, Miguel Martins (aka EDIS ONE), among others, to participate in an hour sharing recipes, songs, live recipes and sustainable experiences, in a live broadcast from 20 pm on the association's Facebook page from their homes.
Despite the constraints of this year's edition, the executive director of ANP|WWF, Ângela Morgado, underlines the importance of keeping active the environmental struggle that the movement embodies.
“Nature is the lifeline for 7,6 billion people. We are currently destroying the natural systems we rely on to ensure our health and well-being faster than they can be restored, compromising our very survival and existence. Therefore, Earth Hour 2020 offers a fundamental opportunity to unite millions of people and raise their voice to ensure an international commitment to stop and reverse the loss of nature," he stressed.
Starting out as a symbolic lights-out event in 2007, Earth Hour has grown into a true mass movement. Whenever it is safe to do so, the initiative maintains its request for monuments and buildings across the country to turn off their lights for one hour, starting at 20:30 pm.
In Portugal there are more than 100 participating municipalities. In the district of Beja, there are three participating municipalities and, in the Algarve, there are five.
In Baixo Alentejo, Alvito will turn off the lights in the Paços do Concelho Building, the Igreja Matriz and the Igreja da Misericórdia. Odemira will erase the Paços do Município building, the Building of the Sociocultural Development Division, the Moinho de Vento, Praça Sousa Prado and the scenic lighting of the road bridge and pedestrian bridge over the River Mira. The lighting in the Public Garden of Vila Nova de Milfontes will also be turned off.
Serpa will turn off the lights in the Paços do Concelho building and the scenic lighting on the wall.
In the Algarve, Faro will turn off the lighting in Largo da Sé, Jardim Manuel Bivar, Arco da Vila, SEF Building (Former Civil Government) and Paços do Concelho.
Loulé, on the other hand, in addition to the Town Hall, the lights will be off in the Duarte Pacheco building (Municipal Assembly), in the monument to Engº Duarte Pacheco, in the Municipal Market, in the Cineteatro Louletano, in the Castle wall, in the headquarters building of the Parish Council of São Sebastião and the headquarters of the Parish Council of São Clemente.
In Portimão, the Paços do Concelho building will also be dark during Earth Hour, as will the Municipal Museum of Portimão, TEMPO, the Manuel Teixeira Gomes Municipal Library, the Pavilhão Gimnodesportivo, the Municipal Market and Avenida S. João God's.
The Castle of Silves will also be dark for an hour, as will the Câmara de Silves.
In Tavira, the lights will be turned off in the Palácio da Galeria and, finally, in Vila do Bispo, in addition to the City Hall, the Cultural Center will be turned off during Earth Hour.
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