The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi Joins Earth Hour Movement

On March 25, global environmental campaign Earth Hour took place around the world. Georgia first joined in the ecological activity nine years ago. Since then, every year the main attractions throughout the country have annually switched off their lights, and made noise in support of climate change action.

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event is held annually to encourage individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

This year, the event in Georgia was even larger scale, with many non-governmental buildings, as well as business buildings, switching off their lights. One of the most spectacular parts was played by Georgia’s first skyscraper - The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi. During Earth Hour, all lights in the 32 story building were turned off except for emergency ones. By doing this, the hotel’s staff expressed its support toward the global initiative of protecting nature and the planet we live in. The hotel employees also gathered in the historic lobby of IMEL building (now part of the hotel) and symbolized 60+ by holding lit candles.

“The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi opened almost a year ago,” said Moine Kandil, General Manager at The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi. “For us, it’s the first Earth Hour activity and we are very proud to take part in it. Unfortunately, in the 21st century, environmental problems grow bigger in scale by the year. By raising awareness about the issues we have, we encourage people to think more about the environmental problems and take actions against them. The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi will switch off its lights every year”.

Earth Hour started as a onetime lights-off event in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 but since then it has grown to engage more than 7,000 cities and towns across 172 countries worldwide.