Copenhagen participates in Earth Hour this Saturday

The annual environmental campaign ‘Earth Hour’ will be marked in Copenhagen this Saturday, 27 March  from 8.30-9.30pm. For one hour, Copenhageners will be urged to turn off their lights and instead enjoy the evening by candlelight in what is known in Danish as the ‘sluk lyset kampagne’ (turn off the lights campaign).

A series of events have been planned to mark the event. In the city hall square, Rådhuspladsen, Copenhagen’s astronomy society will be out with telescopes available for all to loan between 2pm and 11pm, hoping for a glimpse of Mars and Saturn and for great views of the Milky Way.

Elsewhere in town, non-profit cafe Cafe Retro goes acoustic with candles and a roaring fire, and First Hotel Vesterbro is offering green cocktails to its guests along with a show from the hotel bar’s flamboyant bartender.

Other hotels participating are:

• Hilton Copenhagen Airport’s public areas will be lit with special bio-candles. Guests are invited to enjoy free drinks in the bar.
• At Radisson Blu Falconer Hotel, all public area lights will be turned off, while all guests who turn off the lights in their hotel room will be rewarded with a free ‘earth hour’ drink in the hotel bar.
• In addition to turning out the lights of their public areas, the CO2 neutral hotel chain Brøchner (comprising Ibsens Hotel, Hotel Kong Arthur, Hotel Danmark and Hotel Fox) will be serving local microbrewery Nørrebros Bryghus’ new CO2 neutral beer, Globe Ale, in all their hotel bars.
• Hotel Alexandra will be candlelit in all public areas.
• The historic Hotel D’Angleterre will be turning off the lights of its well-known facade, while other hotels in the Scandic hotel chain will also be participating.

(Photo of Copenhagen City Hall courtesy of Stig Nygaard).