Earth Hour

As the lights come back on in the Cook Islands, the 134th country to celebrate Earth Hour 2011 - a record breaking year for the annual lights-out event - the global community has shown it is united in commitment to a sustainable future.

Around the world, Earth Hour was embraced by the global community, transcending race, culture, age and economics as individuals took leadership in their communities in the pursuit of a cleaner and safer planet. In 2011, Earth Hour asked the hundreds of millions of people taking part in the one hour switch-off to take the next step and go beyond the hour, using Earth Hour to commit to ongoing action for the planet.

"The Beyond the Hour call to action has been unanimously answered by people worldwide," said Andy Ridley, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Earth Hour. "From school children in Singapore, to Heads of State from the UK, to Australia, Pakistan and Colombia, people have shown that Earth Hour has evolved beyond lights-out.

"This year's event has illustrated without question what can be achieved when people unite with a common purpose and rally to action."

Earth Hour 2011 gathers steam crossing Atlantic

The Americas celebrated the arrival of the global movement with a breadth of lights-off events across the region. Brazil continued the stronger showing for Earth Hour in emerging economies as the wildly successful call for action on the environment continued to roll around the globe.

Hundreds of millions in thousands of cities, towns and communities in a record 134 countries were expected to have participated by the time the lights out and pledge action beyond the hour completes its passage from New Zealand on one side of the International Date Line to former New Zealand dependency the Cook Islands on the other.

Brazil set its own record with 124 cities taking part this year compared to the still creditable 98 of 2010. This included around two-thirds of the state capitals and coverage across all five Brazilian regions. More cities and towns are likely to reveal Earth Hour activities in the coming days.

A huge and emotional event involving more than 3,000 was held in Rio, in front of Arcos da Lapa, a colonial era aqueduct which faded into darkness for the event for the first time. Popular Brazilian singer Toni Garrido warmed up the crowd for addresses from Brazil Environmental Minister, Izabella Teixeira, and Rio de Janeiro Mayor, Eduardo Paes.

The leading landmark to fade into the night sky was Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue, but it was accompanied by more than 300 others including the Copacabana Beach it looks down on, the National Congress (Brasilia), Estaida Bridge (São Paulo) and the Amazon Opera House (Manaus). Generous corporate support from Banco do Brasil, Coca-Cola, TIM, HSBC and Rossi supported the events. Online, the hashtag #horadoplaneta (Portugese for Earth Hour) was trending strongly on Twitter in Brazil.

In Juazeiro do Norte in north eastern Seará state, the leading attraction to go dark was the 27 metre statue of Padre (Father) Cicero, built in 1969 and the central focus of what is considered a major pilgrimage centre and grassroots religious centre.

Celebrations in Mato Gross do Sul, home to the Pantonal wetlands, kicked off in the state capital, Campo Grande. In the Praça (plaza) do Rádio a countdown led by the city mayor, Nelson Trad Filho marked Campo Grande's third participation in Earth Hour. Capoeira circles, a samba school and a local band accompanied the switching off of various icons including the historical building Morada dos Baís. Companies also took their own initiative in switching off.