Cape Town Marks Earth Hour 2009

I just got back from the Earth Hour ceremony and concert downtown in Cape Town. It was held at the V&A Waterfront, and one of the big parts of the evening was when the mayor shut down the large flood lights that illuminate Table Mountain. They also had the philharmonic orchestra, who performed a concern during the "dark" hour.

First, let me just say that Cape Town, in general, is quite spoiled. Many cities struggle to find ways of spicing up their events, or making them picturesque. This comes quite naturally here, since all you need to do is plan the event... the rest is already there. Looking to your left is the large harbor, and situated right behind the concert venue was the towering Table Mountain. Everything here is strikingly beautiful, so they didn't have to try very hard...

Picturesque Table Mountain Backdrop.  No big.

Later in the night, candles and cars.
Click to enlarge.

They also brought in a children's choir who, during the candlelight ceremony, sang "We Are The World" by USA for Africa. You may remember the song from the 80s, with Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, etc. I really love that song, so while it may not have fit perfectly, it was a great touch. They followed that up with South Africa's national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika. It was really neat.

On the topic of turning off lights, it was a bit awkward that the market or whatever, situated right behind the amphitheater did not turn theirs off. Ahemm... you are behind a prominent Earth Hour concert... turn off your lights. As for the downtown area, I saw that the large ABSA building turned their lights off (Bravo!), yet the FNB and LG buildings did not (awkward). Generally, there didn't appear to be overwhelming support in Cape Town, but my view was limited.  All in all, the event lasted several hours and had great music and some good speakers.

Here are a few more photos:

They had a stationary bikes for creating power. Apparently the whole concert was powered by solar energy and what was produced by the bicyclists! Neato, although I'm not sure where they were storing it.

The had the World Wildlife Fund pandas.  I thought of the YouTube video where the panda sneezes.

The lights on Table Mountain that would be turned off.

Drumming!

Lastly, Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille gives her speech. She's also a candidate for provincial premier in next months elections. (Things look good.)

I hope you observe it in the US from 8:30-9:30pm local time.