Greek bridge, buildings dim lights to save energy

STORY: The cables and pylons of the almost 3-kilometre Rio-Antirio bridge across the strait of the Gulf of Corinth, usually seen for kilometres, have been immersed in darkness.

Inaugurated on the eve of the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, the bridge is a well-known landmark in Greece for its impressive construction and is the longest bridge in the country.

The decorative lights made up 800 of the 1500 lights on the bridge, the rest of which must remain on.

Public buildings are also switching off exterior lights and taking other measures after the government called for municipalities and state entities to cut down on energy consumption. Greece's neoclassical parliament building and mayor's office in Athens have turned off their exterior lights in the evening.

"The city of Athens turned off the lights on the mayor's office in a symbolic move to show the effort that is being made by the city to respond to this energy crisis," said city of Athens general secretary Alexandros Tsiatsiamis. "Our goal is to reduce consumption by the end of the year by 10%, and an example is the lighting on the public buildings. We want to implement this but without restricting the operation of the city."