The Kingdom is set to participate in Earth Hour Saturday (March 27) for the first time, joining a record 112 other countries taking part. Executive President of the Electricity Company Ali Bin Saleh Al-Barrak said his company will not cut off electricity to any part of the country on the night. Municipalities are expected to turn off street lights and landlords will turn off outside lights. Countries participating in the event will turn off the electricity in their main cities for one hour from 8.30 to 9.30 PM. According to the Earth Hour website, the event started in 2007 in Sydney when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour. A year later Earth Hour had become a global movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome's Coliseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for the cause. In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4,000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world's largest global climate change initiative. Earth Hour is organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). With almost five million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries, it is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. The WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature, according to the Earth Hour website.
