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THE lights went out across the island on Saturday night as businesses, hotels, buildings and entertainment venues were plunged into darkness in support of Earth Hour - the global campaign to highlight the fight against climate change.
Earth Hour is a worldwide event, started in Australia in 2007, in which the lights were turned off across the planet for an hour from 8.30pm in a symbolic gesture aimed at sending a clear message to national leaders and reaching more than one billion hearts in 1,000 cities.
The Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel was one of the many locations in the kingdom to join in what is being called the first global election between Earth and global warming - turning off the lights represented a vote for Earth.
At a specially organised pool party friends and families jammed to the sounds of the Boxtones by the pool area and enjoyed a large spread at the Kontiki restaurant.
Soha El Ramly, marketing manager said: "We, the Radission SAS, are very much into responsible business and voting for earth is a global event that we are glad to be a part of. We are very much in tune with the environment and global events.
"We have already set up candles all over the hotel in little brown bags filled with dirt, symbolising Earth.
"At 8.30pm, we switched off all the lights from bathrooms to even guest rooms.
"Also the St Christopher's Junior School choir sang three songs celebrating children of the world and Mother Earth."
Environmentally conscious Charlie Holding, 24, a reporter, from Adliya, said: "I want to vote for Earth because it is an amazing planet and I would like to protect it."
Danny Hunter, 24, from the Royal Navy, said: "My mates and I are having a great time. The Boxtones are brilliant and the food is good. Overall it was an amazing night."
Miriam Sandy, school nurse from St Christopher's School, from Budaiaya watched as her daughter Michaela, nine, sang in the choir during Earth Hour.
She said: "It's a fantastic event and such a great atmosphere. The children were absolutely lovely singing in candle light."
Scarlet Robinson, 10, a student at St Christopher's Junior School, from Riffa, said: "I am very excited to sing for Earth. We must fight global warming and switch off our lights because we are wasting a lot of electricity."
Elsewhere in the kingdom Sheraton Bahrain Hotel took energy saving measures across the resort such as turning off exterior signage lighting, dimming or turning off non-essential interior lighting, using dim lights and candles in appropriate public areas and informing guests about the campaign. And to increase awareness amongst workers there were posters in staff areas and an Earth Hour video was played in the staff cafeteria.
The Ritz-Carlton hosted a Bahrain German-Friendship Society candle light dinner to mark the occasion.
And the Coca-Cola Bottling Company sponsored an Earth Hour Festival at the Al Raja Auditorium from 7.30pm to 9.30pm with popular group Just ask Jase providing entertainment and lots of activities themed around the environment.
Leila Rajkumar, the company's public relations manager, said: "We celebrated Earth Hour 2009 the entire week of March 22 by giving climate change education presentations to all employees. We also urged the plant's 250 employees to incorporate Earth Hour into their homes.
"Conservation of water being one of our key environmental goals, we hosted events around Earth Hour 2009 to identify measures for reducing wastage of water as an integral routine in our daily lives."
The bottling plant also sent letters to its biggest customers urging them to get involved too and received a very positive response.
Alongside the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building, Bahrain stood proud as its largest and smallest conglomerates rose to the occasion by lighting up candles and turning off the electricity.
The lights went out at the iconic World Trade Centre and the Bahrain International Circuit and BIC chief executive Martin Whitaker said: "As the first circuit in the world to have an active environmental programme with the UNEP we are delighted to see many more establishments follow suit to enhance the Kingdom's commitment towards the environment and community."
And his words were echoed by the bosses of Price Waterhouse Coopers, whose staff are involved with the campaign all around the world, Recycling for Charity, which is busy doing its bit for the Earth right here in Bahrain, and Servocorp which turned off its own lights and urged all staff to do the same.
The results of the election are being presented at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.
Earth Hour, voting for earth was marked on all seven continents and in more than 3,900 cities in 88 countries.
