More than 30 groups around the world release details of their events for Earth Day 2000, to be celebrated on April 22, 2000. March 22, 2000 - Earth Day Network today officially kicked off the 30-day countdown to the thirtieth anniversary of Earth Day, with major partners around the world announcing plans for Earth Day 2000. From France to China, organizers announced details of the rallies, fairs, conferences, and other events that will be held in April 2000 to raise awareness of environmental issues, especially the need for clean energy. Hundreds of millions of people across the planet are expected to join in celebrating Earth Day 2000. "Earth Day 2000 marks the 30th anniversary of the first Earth Day and also heralds the beginning of a new millennium," said Denis Hayes, National Coordinator of the first Earth Day and Chair of Earth Day Network. "Earth Day has always been about everyday people taking action in their own communities for a cleaner, healthier environment. This year, with hundreds of millions of people around the world participating in the biggest Earth Day yet, we will take real steps toward a cleaner, healthier environment for our future." Highlights of Earth Day events include: United States: Leonardo DiCaprio will host EarthFair 2000 on 22 April at the National Mall in Washington, DC. The event will feature celebrity entertainment and interactive exhibits powered completely with clean energy. United Kingdom: Earth Day UK^s Eco-Festival at the renewably-powered Millennium Dome near London will feature green musical acts, educational road shows, community workshops, and interactive programs and exhibits. Poland: A fair and picnic will be held at Pola Mokotowskie Park in Warsaw on April 30th. The event, which will cap a month of Earth Day activity on the clean energy theme, will involve 60,000 people. Italy: As part of Legambiente^s "Cities Without Cars" campaign, cars will be blocked from the centers of 150 Italian cities on April 8th and 9th to draw attention to air pollution. In Rome, more than 100,000 people are expected to attend an open-air festival held in a blocked-off area near the Colosseum. China: The Earth Day 2000 China coalition, the first NGO coalition in the country^s history, is coordinating a series of events for Earth Day. The coalition^s Green Life Signature Campaign will ask thousands of people to pledge to make 12 lifestyle changes for the environment. On Earth Day, a ceremony in downtown Beijing will feature a display of all the Green Life Signature pledges, along with speeches and a photo exhibit. South Africa: groundWork is coordinating an Earth Day campaign to demand a national transition to cleaner oil refinery practices and to clean energy technologies. On April 22nd, a rally in South Durban will bring together residents affected by polluting oil refineries. India: Hundreds of children will present a "Children^s Clean Air Manifesto" to India^s First Lady in a ceremony in New Delhi. The Manifesto and a Children^s Bike Rally will draw attention to the need for clean transportation alternatives. Earth Day first went international in 1990, when 200 million people in 141 countries participated in activities around the world. Ten years later, Earth Day is poised to be the largest organized environmental event in human history. ### Earth Day Network is the international organization coordinating Earth Day 2000 events worldwide. More than 500 million people are expected to participate in Earth Day 2000 events worldwide. For more information on Earth Day Network and the 4,500 organizations in 180 countries participating in the worldwide Earth Day 2000 campaign, please visit www.earthday.net.

Uploaded: 2/21/2004