Every year, right on the dot, the Royal Opera House Muscat is one of the landmarks in the country that turn off all of its non-essential lights to celebrate Earth Hour.
Falling on March 30 this year, there was an ongoing performance at 8.30 PM but it wasn’t an excuse not to participate so despite not being fully able to turn off all the lights, it dimmed all of them making some of the event attendees to question if it was experiencing some electricity problem.
That simple action and the questions that ensued educated a lot of their guests about the yearly effort being made to address the issues and impact of climate change.
ROHM is just one of the many companies in the Sultanate that participated in the event.
In Salalah, hotels and big businesses office were at the forefront of the #SaveTheEarth movement. Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts in Salalah went all out, dotting the whole property with candles and setting up a torch forming “EartHour” by its beach. It was an effort that totally is hard not to take notice of.
In Muscat, the same effort has not been lost with many of the corporate offices pledging their support through turning off their lights for an hour.
Not to be outdone, Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Calton Hotel not only opted to shut down the non-essential lights of their facility, but they also rallied parents and children to join their plant trees in the garden efforts which promoted sustainable practices from a young age.
As a global movement, Oman and many of the residents who live in the country are not the only ones who take part. All over the world, the effort was truly worthy of commendation.
Global landmarks go dark for Earth Hour
New York’s Empire State Building, the pyramids of Egypt and Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue were among top world monuments plunged into darkness for an hour Saturday to put the spotlight on climate change and its impact on the planet.
Organized by environmental watchdog WWF, the 13th edition of Earth Hour saw millions of people across 180 countries turning off their lights at 8:30 pm to highlight energy use and the need for conservation.
The event follows some of the direst warnings to date on the state of Earth’s natural habitat and species.
Dozens of companies around the world pledged to join this year’s campaign, which saw Singapore’s skyline go dark and Hong Kong turn off the lights along Victoria Harbour.
In Europe, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican were swallowed by darkness.
The lights also went out in Mexico at Guadalajara’s Degollado Theater.
Other global landmarks that flicked the switch included the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, Sydney’s Opera House, the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa -- the world’s tallest skyscraper -- the Acropolis in Athens, Shanghai Tower and the Kremlin building in Moscow.
In Cali, Colombia, people lit candles to form a “60+” sign as part of the Earth Hour events.— With reports from AFP
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