(MIAMI, FL.)—On Monday, March 24, 2008, from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm, at the Bank of America Sky Terrace, City of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz will host the official launch of Earth Hour, a global event spearheaded by the World Wildlife Fund that asks all residents and business owners to turn their lights out for on hour to make a powerful statement about climate change. To promote awareness of this event and gain support from all Miami residents, the event will feature a ‘secret’ grand finale when Mayor Diaz will turn off the lights of the signature Bank of America Tower at 8:00 pm.

As part of the event local DJ Lolo will spin earthy tunes for guests while video projection screens will show eco art by Miami-based artist and recipient of the National Geographic Ford Fellowship, Tim Calver, both sponsored by Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator. Complimentary drinks will be provided, courtesy of Bacardi, and on-site parking will also be free for guests. The event is expected to attract a full capacity of 250 residents, business owners, and environmentally conscious opinion leaders. All activities will lead up to the ‘secret’ grand finale, when the lights on the exterior of the building will be turned off.

All of this will serve to inform the community about the Earth Hour event. Earth Hour is on Saturday, March 29th, from 8 pm to 9 pm, when Miami will join cities across the world to turn off non-essential lights for one hour.  Participating cities include San Francisco, Bangkok, Sydney, Tel Aviv, and Copenhagen. The City of Miami has joined the official World Wildlife Fund list of participating cities in seizing the opportunity to demonstrate how we can all work together to make a positive impact in the fight against this global issue. All City of Miami lights impacting public safety will remain on, including street lights, and lights in public spaces, hospitals or emergency services will remain on for the duration of the event.

For more information about Earth Hour, please go to http://www.earthhourus.org/.