Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative is taking off across the world, with 690 iconic landmarks and sites in 66 different countries lighting up green for St. Patrick’s Day. The initiative, which began in 2012 with just the Sydney Opera House and the Sky Tower in Auckland going green, will see the biggest number of participants this year.
From Rome to Rio and from London to Las Vegas, a host of famous buildings and sites around the world will be illuminated in green to mark St Patrick’s Day — including the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Niagara Falls, Victoria Falls, the Sydney Opera House, the ‘Welcome’ sign in Las Vegas, the Sky Tower in Auckland, Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Burj Al Arab in Dubai, the Prince’s Palace of Monaco and the Cibeles Fountain in Madrid.
These ‘old favourites’ are joined this year by lots of newcomers – including the Oculus transit hub near the World Trade Center in New York; the village of Portmeirion in North Wales; the largest fountain in the world, The Palm Fountain in Dubai; the tallest building in South America, the Torre Costanera in Chile; Bled Castle in Slovenia; Cairo Tower in Egypt; Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier in California; Clérigos Tower in Portugal; Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest; and Villa E-1027 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin in France.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “This year marks the 12th year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative and it’s the biggest ever, with some wonderful new additions like The Palm Fountain in Dubai – the largest fountain in the world. Other new sites include the village of Portmeirion in North Wales and Bled Castle in Slovenia. Each year, I am delighted to see so many iconic landmarks and sites wishing to get involved, to mark St Patrick’s Day.”
“This year, in particular, we aim to bring some positivity and hope to our Diaspora across the globe. More than 70 million people around the world claim links to the island of Ireland and St Patrick’s Day is a truly unique opportunity to reconnect them with their heritage. At a time when Irish people overseas cannot travel home, we want to shine a green light in as many locations around the world as possible, giving our Diaspora a sense of connection with home and reminding them that we cannot wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome them back, as soon as it is possible to do so. This year, against the ongoing backdrop of COVID-19, our St Patrick’s Day programme around the world is more important than ever before. During this challenging time, we want to mark St Patrick’s Day and to keep Ireland to the fore in a positive light, on the day when people everywhere are thinking about Ireland,” Gibbons added.
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