Many Peruvian landmarks — and world famous cultural symbol Machu Picchu — went dark for the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour 2009.
Lights went out around the world for Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28, 2009, at exactly 8:30 PM local time, in every time zone.
In Peru’s capital, Lima, the Government Palace was the first to switch its lights off. The Basilica Cathedral of Lima, City Hall, businesses and shops, hotels, and millions of homes also went dark for an hour, reported Radio Radio Programas, or RPP.
Across the globe, sky-scrapers such as the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and cultural mainstays such as Singapore’s Merlion statue, Rome’s Coliseum, Egypt’s Great Pyramids and the U.K.’s Big Ben also switched their lights off for a full hour.
More than 4,000 cities located in 88 different countries answered climate’s call.
Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.
