Massey & Roy Thomson Hall Join In Canada's Earth Hour 2009

The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall, in conjunction with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO), is pleased to announce its ongoing involvement in Earth Hour, 2009. Like last year's inaugural Earth Hour initiative, Toronto is the leading city in Canada participating in this venture to raise awareness of the impact of climate change. To date, over 17,000 businesses from over 80 countries around the world, and over 5,119 organisations are reducing or shutting off electrical devices for one hour on March 29, between 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM.

Skylines from around the world are joining in, including founding city Sydney, and most major Australian cities; many American cities will join in as they did last year, including Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Palo Alto; Dublin, Ireland; and Tel Aviv, Israel. Here in Toronto, many landmark buildings will be plunged into darkness. A year ago, Earth Hour made its debut in Sydney, and over 2 million people and businesses participated. This resulted in a 10 percent reduction on the electrical grid, saving 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

"We're excited to take part once again in this growing world-wide initiative," said Charles S. Cutts, President and CEO of The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall. "Again, we team up with our main ‘resident', the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, which has a concert on the 28h. With the TSO, we are taking the steps necessary to cut back on electrical power in our bid to reduce energy consumption. I hope other arts organizations do the same."

These steps include:
Massey Hall

· The Hall is dark. The marquis sign will be turned off from 8:30 - 9:30 PM.

· All exterior lighting that does not affect safety concerns will be turned off.

· Any Massey Hall internal lighting visible to the public will be turned off.

Roy Thomson Hall

· TSO concert at 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM (no intermission).

· Most exterior building lighting will be turned off for the hour.

· Internal lighting levels will be adjusted, being mindful of public safety.

· The electronic sign at the corner of King and Simcoe will be turned off.

· General lobby lights to be reduced to concert reception lighting.

· RTH and TSO donor wall lights will be turned off.

· Backstage lighting will be reduced.

· The main floor and mezzanine bars will substantially reduce their light levels.

Pre-concert announcements will be made, and signs will be posted to inform the patrons of Earth Hour. The lighting in the underground parking lot will remain on at full. For more information, please visit www.earthhour.org.