- The festival will bring communities together to support collective efforts to tackle the climate crisis
- The symbolic Switch Off will take place at 8:30pm on Saturday 25 March
- WWF-Singapore encourages participants to go Beyond The Hour, and pledge continuous support for the environment
- Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay joins WWF-Singapore as the Official Festival Partner for the first time
SINGAPORE, 22 March 2023 – WWF’s (World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore) Earth Hour Festival at Esplanade will take place from Friday 24th – Sunday 26th March 2023. Bringing climate-conscious activities including free art performances, educational booths around climate change, and talks by WWF-Singapore’s subject matter experts – the Festival encourages the general public to come together to show their commitment to people and the planet.
Marking the first in-person Earth Hour occasion since 2019, highlight of the weekend-long event will be the symbolic Switch Off event on Saturday, 25th March, at 8.30pm at the Outdoor Theatre at Esplanade. Attendees will witness the moment of solidarity when Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay area dips into darkness for 1 hour, in support of the planet. Last year, over 1,000 individuals and businesses participated in the symbolic Switch Off.
This year, WWF-Singapore is encouraging participants to go Beyond The Hour, taking a stand for the environment by making small, actionable changes in their daily lives, such as by reducing the consumption of single-use plastics, and eating more sustainably farmed seafood and other produce.
The Singapore Kosong Plan is a commitment that brings businesses, organisations and individuals together to help achieve a low carbon, climate-resilient Singapore. Kosong Plan pledges can be made here, and pledgers will be given actionable tips on how to achieve their “Kosong Plan” goals.
“WWF’s Earth Hour, as a global movement, celebrates our collective resolve in tackling the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges. Singapore has recently committed to the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. As many landmark buildings around Singapore go dark this Earth Hour, we are reminded that we can all make a difference and even acts like turning off non-essential lights and increasing air-conditioning temperature settings to 25 degree celsius can have an immense impact. We are grateful to Esplanade for joining forces with us in engaging the local community during the WWF Earth Hour Festival. Together, it is possible to create meaningful change,” said WWF-Singapore’s CEO, Mr. R. Raghunathan.
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, WWF’s Festival Partner for Earth Hour, aims to be future-forward in adopting sustainable practices. The centre’s iconic exterior was designed to reduce reliance on artificial lighting during the day. Its structural columns are able to collect rainwater, which is used for irrigation and general cleaning around the centre. Through recycling efforts and the installation of a food digestor machine for organic food waste, Esplanade has reduced its general waste output to landfills by about 20 kg per month. The centre has also been certified as a Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Platinum Award.
Ms Yvonne Tham, Chief Executive Officer of Esplanade said, “As an arts centre, we share the responsibility of mitigating climate change. Esplanade has continually taken steps to care for the environment since we opened over 20 years ago, and we are committed to the goals of the Singapore Green Plan 2030. With about 3,500 activities at the centre every year, it is important that our operations are sustainable while still offering a safe and conducive experience for all. In addition, the arts can serve as a platform for people to explore and examine issues that impact communities, such as climate change. Together with artists, we’ll therefore continue to create and present works that critically examine man’s relationship with nature.”
The weekend will begin with the Young Reporters for the Environment & Eco Schools Awards Ceremony, which will take place on Friday 24th March. Whilst the Young Reporters for the Environment programme engages participants aged 11 to 25 in environment-focused citizen journalism, the Eco School Awards recognise, chart and celebrate student initiatives in schools. Each programme empowers young people to be part of the solution. These awards are closed-door programmes for the invited youth and other attendees.
Throughout the festival weekend, Sustainability Talks by WWF-Singapore will enable attendees to tap into the vast knowledge of WWF-Singapore’s very own experts, who will share more information about climate change and how it is affecting lives and livelihoods. Topics will include Net Zero, Circular Economy, Conservation, and Coral Restoration. Also on offer are DIY Sustainable building material workshops by Ferticlay. Creators of an alternative clay mixture, which is created using wasted materials that are combined with clay and discarded paper, Ferticlay will host a series of hands-on workshops, whereby participants will create figurines using the clay.
Photography in Nature Series Walks throughout the weekend will aim to get the public exploring and discovering the natural world, and is part of WWF’s outreach efforts to promote the preservation of nature. Attendees will be taken on a nature walk along a curated path at Singapore’s oldest heritage park. Each will be provided with a macro lens, which will enable them to capture the unseen world of nature that can’t be seen with the naked eye.
Only limited seats are available for these talks and workshops, hence it is highly advisable that members of the public book their seats in advance at the WWF Earth Hour Festival website.
Festival highlights include free performances throughout the weekend, organised by Esplanade as part of Foreword and Soul Jam, the centre’s themes for its free programmes in March. These include the Panik Record Showcase featuring music performances at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre and poet, multidisciplinary artist and professional speaker, ArunDitha’s spoken word performance, Earth Song, at the Esplanade Concourse ahead of the iconic Switch Off.
8:30pm on 25th March will mark the iconic Switch Off, when attendees will be able to watch the iconic Singapore city skyline go dark for one hour in support of our planet.
Earth Hour Festival 2023 is organised by WWF-Singapore. Esplanade is the Festival Partner and Watsons Singapore is the leading partner of the event. For the full list of partners, see
Annexe A.
Learn more: https://www.wwf.sg/earthhour/festival/
#BiggestHourForEarth
For more information, please contact:
| Marta Bigio marta.bigio@redhill.asia +65 91397354 | Olivia Burton olivia.burton@redhill.asia +65 90830364 |
About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is WWF’s flagship global environmental movement. Born in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to become one of the world’s largest grassroots movements for the environment, inspiring individuals, communities, businesses and organisations in more than 180 countries and territories to take tangible environmental action for over a decade. Historically, Earth Hour has focused on the climate crisis, but more recently, Earth Hour has strived to also bring the pressing issue of nature loss to the fore. The aim is to create an unstoppable movement for nature, as it did when the world came together to tackle climate change. The movement recognises the role of individuals in creating solutions to the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges and harnesses the collective power of its millions of supporters to drive change.
About WWF-Singapore
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.
WWF-Singapore works locally and around the region to create impactful change around climate, circular economy, wildlife, biodiversity and sustainable finance by engaging individuals, communities, businesses and governments. For more information, please visit wwf.sg.
About Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay
Esplanade is Singapore’s national performing arts centre. It hosts a year-round line-up of about 3,500 live performances and activities presented by Esplanade, its partners and hirers. As an arts centre for everyone, Esplanade also creates opportunities for seniors, youth, children and underserved communities to experience the arts. More than 70% of the shows that take place each year at the centre are free for all to enjoy.
Esplanade also brings the arts virtually to audiences in Singapore and beyond, through its diverse range of digital programmes on Esplanade Offstage, an all-access backstage pass to the performing arts and guide to Singapore and Asian arts and culture, with videos, podcasts, articles, quizzes and resources.
The centre works in close partnership with local, regional and international artists to develop artistic capabilities and content, push artistic boundaries and engage audiences. Esplanade supports the creation of artistic content by commissioning and producing new Singapore and Asian work for the international stage. It also develops technical capabilities for the industry nationally.
Esplanade –Theatres on the Bay is operated by The Esplanade Co Ltd (TECL), which is a not-for-profit organisation, a registered Charity and an Institution of a Public Character. The Charity Council awarded TECL the Charity Governance Award – Special Commendation for Clarity of Strategy in 2016 and 2022, and the Charity Transparency Award from 2016 – 2019 and 2022. Esplanade is Singapore’s first Dementia-Friendly Arts Venue and a certified Dementia Go-To Point, as well as a Guide-dog Friendly centre.
TECL receives funding support from Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and its Community Programmes are supported by Tote Board Family, comprising Tote Board, Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club.
Visit Esplanade.com for more information.
ANNEX A: PARTNERS
- Festival partner: Esplanade
- Lead partner: Watsons Singapore
- Supporting partners:
- HSBC
- Samsonite
- WingTai Asia Retail
- Communications Partner: Redhill
