Spider-Man turns on the dark for Earth Hour

Singapore’s skyline plunged into semi-darkness for an hour last Saturday with the world’s largest Earth Hour celebration, where around 9,000 people gathered at The Float@Marina Bay to watch as Spider-Man himself turned off the lights, surrounded by cast and crew of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

With Spidey as the Earth Hour superhero ambassador, he had the honour of spreading the word on sustainability and conservation. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 star Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man / Peter Parker – I hope this isn’t a spoiler for you), co-stars Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy) and Jamie Foxx (Spoiler: Max Dillon / Electro) and director Mark Webb all came together to share tips: Shower for a shorter period of time, turn the air-conditioning up by one degree Celsius, use less plastic bags and use LED lights.

It’s apt, of course, and I wish they had played up the bit about Electro being here – Spidey defeating him would have brought an extra flair to the night. Still, tons of people had fun either with the pre- and post-party, watching the stars, and, well, just watching the sky slower turn dark as the buildings flipped the switches one by one. Jamie Foxx seemed to have the most fun, bringing his daughter on stage with a friend and even leading some Spidey chants, while Garfield showed off the best of geeky awkward dancing. Emma Stone was luminous as usual – maybe she could be a light source?

Well, to be entirely cynical one could say that a huge proportion of the crowd was really there because of the star power of Garfield and gang – but the organisers also have a point, that without this maybe they won’t even hear the message at all. It’s going to take a lot to fight climate change and really just making sure we can survive on this planet (not even thinking of the children here), so every little bit does count.

At any rate, after spending three days being easily at arm’s length to the cast and crew of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it still is a very surreal experience. Sure, we got a close look at how the Hollywood well-oiled machinery works – even in Singapore – but to watch as fans came out in droves to meet the stars, and also the stars contributing their time in helping the Earth – one hopes the Earth has got that few more fans that’s going to keep her going for many more years to come.

WWF-Singapore CEO Elaine Tan said that she hoped to be one day be out of a job – for the right reasons – let’s pledge to help her. Me? Shorter showers for sure – even in this heat.

Missed the event? Check out a short video recap it right below.