CITY OF ANGELS JOINS MORE THAN 3,900 CITIES AROUND THE WORLD TO GO DARK FOR “EARTH HOUR L.A. 2009”
Sunday, March 29, 2009World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Will.I.Am, Baron Davis, and other A-Listers Join Hundreds of Millions of People Around the World in Raising Awareness For Climate Change
(LOS ANGELES) March 28, 2009 – Tonight “Earth Hour 2009” was celebrated on the West Coast in true Hollywood style as thousands of Angelino’s gathered at L.A. LIVE in a united call for action on climate change. As WWF and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa marshaled the countdown to lights-out, the city, residents and business owners all over the city turned out their lights in homes, iconic buildings, landmarks, and corporate office complexes, creating a citywide, indelible visual for the entire city.
To kick off the festivities, TV personality Leeza Gibbons and Broadway singer/songwriter Douglas Ladnier joined emcee Tony Okungbowa from "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to usher in this historic event. The much anticipated moment of darkness didn’t disappoint as WWF and Mayor Villaraigosa called the New Years Eve like countdown to lights out at 8:30pm sharp. Hundreds gathered in the L.A. Live plaza and held their LED candles high in the air to show their support and continue representing the message that started at the other side of the world almost 23 hours ago. Other performances followed throughout the evening including the L.A. Agape Choir, local urban artist Gina Rene, whose song “Be The Change” was chosen as the official anthem of Earth Hour L.A., and local student group "The Life Drum Core," who debuted a performance piece called “Funeral for Fossil Fuels,” created especially for Earth Hour L.A.
The much anticipated moment of darkness didn’t disappoint as the Mayor called the New Years Eve like countdown to the lights out plaza of L.A. Live. Thousands gathered in the plaza and held their LED candles high in the air to show their support and continue representing the message that started at the other side of the world almost 23 hours ago. A hush passed over the crowd as the Mayor flipped the switch. One by one small points of light were raised in honor of Earth Hour2009 and a loud cheer began to swell eventually rippling throughout the crowd.
Hollywood’s Elite Turned Out…
Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Alanis Morissette, Will.I.Am, Baron Davis, Janeane Garofalo, Big Kenny of Big & Rich, Los Angeles Kings, Tom Bergeron of "Dancing with the Stars," Mary Hart of "Entertainment Tonight," “The Insider,” "American Idol," "Bones," "Family Guy," "Good Day L.A.," FOX 11 News, FOX Sports West, "CSI," "The Insider," "The Price Is Right," all went dark to celebrate “Earth Hour L.A.” Many of the celebrities donated their time to create PSAs and shout-outs, which are now available on the Earth Hour L.A. Web site (http://www.EarthHourUS.org/losangeles).
Los Angeles Iconic Buildings Turned Out…
Andre Balazs Properties including Chateau Marmont, The Standard Hollywood, The Standard Downtown LA, BP’s Helios House, The Gibson Amphitheater, The Los Angeles Times, UCLA’s Royce Hall, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Wilshire Christian Church, Wilshire United Methodist Church, The Griffith Observatory, Getty Center, STAPLES Center, Chris Burden’s outdoor installation Urban Light at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), El Capitan Theatre, the Capitol Records Tower, Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel, the pylons at LAX, City Hall, Amoeba Records; I.O. West, Groundlings, Upright Citizens Brigade, The Comedy Store, Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Clara Shortridge Foltz Courthouse, Hall of Records, and Department of Health Service Administration all turned out their lights for Earth Hour L.A.
Dine By Candlelight…
Participating hotels, restaurants and bars: Akasha - the first "all green" fine dining restaurant in LA, Tender Greens - Culver City, The Corner Hollywood, M Cafe – Melrose, Chaya - Venice, Beverly Hills, Downtown, Euphoria Loves Rawvolution, Mani's Bakery – Fairfax, and Gyenari - Culver City. At L.A. LIVE, all the restaurants participated: The Farm of Beverly Hills - L.A. LIVE, Boca at The Conga, ESPN Zone, Fleming's Prime Steak House and Wine Bar, New Zealand Natural, Rock N' Fish, Starbuck's Coffee, The Yard House, and Club Nokia.
After reaching Los Angeles city limits, Earth Hour 2009 had traveled through 25 time zones, with individuals, businesses and governments in more than 3,900 cities in 88 countries across the globe turning off non-essential lights in support.
Other dignitaries and special guests in attendance included WWF’s Curt Tamkin, Tim Leiweke, President/CEO of AEG and L.A. LIVE, and political figures Jan Perry and Cynthia Ruiz.
Through AEG's participation with Earth Hour L.A., 28 AEG properties around the world turned out and took action in their local time zones on March 28th. Additionally real estate company CB Richard Ellis turned off all non-essential lighting and equipment in 80 managed office buildings totaling nearly 20 million square feet in L.A.
National partners for WWF's Earth Hour 2009 are Esurance, Cox Enterprises, The Coca-Cola Company, Wells Fargo and Hewlett-Packard.
About World Wildlife Fund and Earth Hour
Earth Hour (www.EarthHourUS.org
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Contacts:
Dan Forman, WWF, O): 202-495-9546 C): 202-758-7940, dan.forman@wwfus.org
Ron Roecker, Enfluence Group, C): 310.384.5641, ron@enfluencegroup.com
Kimberly Moran-Blad, Enfluence Group, C): 818.694.3103, kimberly@enfluencegroup.com
