WWF’s Earth Hour returns to London (and indeed the whole planet) in March 2026, plunging us temporarily into darkness.
You probably know the Earth Hour drill by now. It’s been running since 2007, making this year’s the 20th edition of the event. The idea behind Earth Hour is simple: switch your lights off for an hour on a Saturday evening to show your dedication to caring for the planet.
Landmarks including the BT Tower, Harrods, the Royal Naval College, Tower Bridge, Southwark Cathedral, Mansion House, Barbican, the Gherkin, St Paul’s and the Royal Opera House have taken part in previous years, making for an unusual view of the London skyline.
Only non-essential lights are switched off, and street lights remain on for safety reasons — though in a city like London, that means rather a lot of bulbs remain on, so in practise it rarely reaches anything close to pitch black. Check back on the Earth Hour website or with individual venues to find out what’s going dark for 2026.
The WWF is encouraging people to go one step further for Earth Hour, and give 60 minutes of their time to doing something positive for the planet and reconnecting with nature. Planting a tree, going litter picking or cooking a sustainable meal are among the suggestions. Check out the Give an Hour for Earth section of the website.
Earth Hour 2026 takes place Saturday 28 March 2026, 8.30pm-9.30pm (and if you’ve had enough of darkness, there’s good news — the clocks go forward just a few hours later, early in the morning of Sunday 29 March 2026).
