Around 600 people lit lanterns and a bonfire and turned off phones and lights to celebrate global Earth Hour. on Torre Abbey Sands' seafront festoon lights were turned off as a lantern procession was led by drummers and stilt walkers on to the beach.
Earlier on the Torquay beach artwork by sand artist Geoffrey 'The Sandyman' Ward showed a giant lightbulb with the words “Earth Hour Torbay”. His work was then illuminated with more than 800 candles in jars, reports Devon Live.
Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and takes place on the last Saturday of March in over 190 countries across the globe. Participants are called on to switch off their lights between 8.30pm and 9.30pm, as a symbol of commitment to the planet.
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Councillor Mike Morey, Cabinet member for Infrastructure, Environment and Culture at Torbay Council said: “Earth Hour Torbay was a fantastic event, and I would like to thank the organisers, the acts and everyone who turned off their lights at home and came out to support on the night. It was great to see such a wide age range of people in attendance, all keen to show their support and commitment to becoming more environmentally friendly. The entertainment and atmosphere were amazing, and I do hope this can become an annual gathering.”
Nick Powe, Geopark Chairman said: “Having so many, of all ages, switch off and join this event was just wonderful. It made for a great opportunity to reflect on our daily lives and think about what we can all do as individuals on a daily basis to help make change happen. All UNESCO Global Geoparks around the world are aligned to the 17 UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals so we were delighted that the Council were able to join us and support this event to make it into something special for all those who attended. Plus a really big thank you has to go out to all those who made and brought along their own recycled lanterns which helped to make it such a magical event.”
Councillor Atiya-Alla said “I was delighted to open this fantastic event and to see so many people come and join us and commit to helping save our planet. Torbay Council has declared a climate emergency and we are working with the local community to make Torbay carbon neutral by 2030. Just last week we committed £1million to tackling climate change in our approved Carbon Neutral Council Action Plan and events like this show that the local community are keen to do their bit too.”
