Stadiums, statues, castles and towers will go green to celebrate our national day
One World Trade Center in New York, City Hall and Heron Tower in London, Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona and Cloth Hall in Ypres join Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening for the first time
One World Trade Center in New York – the main building of the re-built World Trade Center complex in New York and the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere – will join Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative for the first time in 2017.
Tourism Ireland today announced details of some of the famous attractions and sites around the world which will go green to mark St Patrick’s Day this year, kicking off the organisation’s major first half promotional drive to grow overseas tourism in 2017. The annual initiative, which sees a host of major landmarks around the world turn green for St Patrick’s Day, has grown from strength to strength, with lots of new landmarks signing up to take part this year.
The new landmarks for 2017 include: One World Trade Center, City Hall in London, Heron Tower in London, Plaça de Catalunya and the fountains on Gran Via in Barcelona, Pozzo di San Patrizio (St Patrick’s Well) in Orvieto, the four principal monuments in the town of Cosenza (Calabria), City Hall in Antwerp (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Cloth Hall in Ypres, Matsue Castle in Japan, Gwangandaegyo (Diamond Bridge) in South Korea and even a rhino statue in Nairobi National Park, as well as an Ethiopian Airlines airplane in Addis Ababa. And, the famous red carpet in Cannes (le tapis rouge lumineux) will become the ‘green carpet’ on 17 March!
The new sites will join some ‘old favourites’ which have gone green in previous years – including the London Eye, Nelson’s Column in London, Selfridges department store in London, the Colosseum in Rome, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Burj al Arab in Dubai, the Roue de Paris, the ‘Welcome’ sign in Las Vegas, Niagara Falls, the Empire State Building in New York, the Sky Tower in New Zealand and the Great Wall of China. And, Chicago will be going all out to celebrate St Patrick and Ireland once again this year, with numerous buildings and sites across the city set to light up green – including Navy Pier, the John Hancock Center, the Wrigley Building, the Civic Opera House, One Prudential Plaza and Chicago Gaelic Park.
Tourism Ireland’s unique global campaign – now in its eighth year – kicks off the organisation’s first half promotional drive to grow overseas tourism in 2017.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD, said: “From modest beginnings in 2010, the Global Greening initiative has grown to become a significant worldwide reminder of both St Patrick’s Day itself and also of Ireland and its appeal as a visitor destination. From a tourism perspective, the true value of the Global Greening initiative is in the huge level of public interest and consequently media coverage that is generated about St Patrick’s Day and Ireland. The Global Greening is a prime example of the strong return on public investment that is provided by Tourism Ireland’s overseas marketing activity, which is reflected in Ireland’s exceptional tourism performance. From the perspective of our Irish Diaspora, it is gratifying that their contribution to the fortunes of other nations is recognised so visually around the globe.”
Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Joe McHugh TD, said: “The willingness and desire of so many to be involved in celebrating our national day is symbolic of the great friendship and respect that exists between Ireland and so many countries around the world and demonstrates the uniqueness of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. The celebrations allow us to deepen existing friendships, to strengthen awareness of Ireland and our rich heritage and to forge new ties. Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening creates a visual calling card, a reminder of home to our Diaspora spread across the globe and sparks the interest of those as of yet unfamiliar with the great heritage that our national day celebrates. As Minister of State for the Diaspora, I know that the “greenings” bring great pride to Irish people overseas and reflect the warm regard in which Ireland and its people are held around the world.”
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “This is the eighth year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative and each year I am delighted to see even more well-known attractions and landmark sites wishing to get involved and join our St Patrick’s celebrations. The success of our Global Greening initiative is due in no small part to the great work that has been carried out across the world by Irish people down the generations and, in particular, to the great support we’ve received from the Irish embassy network and the Diaspora. The eagerness of cities and countries everywhere to take part underlines the strength of the deep connection that people all over the world feel to Ireland. 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.
“People across the world instantly identify St Patrick’s Day with the island of Ireland and that heightened profile allows us to put the Ireland holiday experience in the spotlight – from Auckland to London and from Rome to Rio de Janeiro. Our St Patrick’s programme this year will span Great Britain, Mainland Europe, North America, Australia, as well as emerging tourism markets such as China and India. There will be saturation coverage of the island of Ireland across the airwaves, in newspapers and digital media – and that’s an invaluable boost at this time of year for our overall tourism marketing drive for 2017.”
International journalists – representing top media outlets from around the globe – will visit Ireland, taking in the Dublin St Patrick’s Day parade during their time here. And Tourism Ireland will also exploit the profile of St Patrick’s Day with international media – sending images, video footage and news about Ireland to news desks around the world, as well as to its database of about 20,000 influential travel and lifestyle media contacts.
Joan O’Shaughnessy, Chairman of Tourism Ireland; Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross; Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Joe McHugh; and Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, at the launch of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative 2017.LANDMARKS AND ICONIC SITES AROUND THE WORLD TAKING PART IN TOURISM IRELAND’S GLOBAL GREENING INITIATIVE 2017
Note: first time ‘greenings’ marked *
Canada
- Niagara Falls (on both the Canadian and US sides)
- Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa
- The Distillery District, Toronto
- Whistler (ski resort)
Great Britain
- London Eye
- Nelson’s Column, London
- Heron Tower, London *
- City Hall, London *
- Selfridges, London
- Selfridges, Birmingham
- Trafford Centre, Manchester
North America
United States
- One World Trade Center (formerly Freedom Tower), New York *
- Empire State Building, New York
- Aisling Irish Community Center, New York
- Civic Opera House, Chicago
- Chicago Gaelic Park
- Irish American Heritage Center, Chicago *
- John Hancock Center, Chicago
- Navy Pier, Chicago
- Novak Construction, Chicago
- One Prudential Plaza, Chicago
- Sheraton Grand Chicago
- State Street, Chicago
- Wrigley Building, Chicago
- ‘Welcome’ sign, Las Vegas
- City Hall, San Francisco
- Pacific Science Center, Seattle
Mainland Europe
Austria
- Wiener Riesenrad (Giant Ferris Wheel), Vienna
- Bergisel Sprungschanze Stadion (ski jump), Innsbruck
Belgium
- Manneken Pis statue, Brussels (“dressed” in Irish costume)
- City Hall, Antwerp *
- Cloth Hall, Ypres *
- Town Hall, Mons
Finland
- Irish Ice Fishing Championship, Tampere *
- Restaurant RantaCasino, Heinola
Croatia
- Bandić fountains, Zagreb *
Cyprus
- Municipal Town Hall, Nicosia
France
- Roue de Paris, Tuileries Gardens, Paris
- Irish Embassy, Paris
- Tapis rouge lumineux (red carpet), Cannes *
- L’Hôtel de Ville, Cannes
- La Croisette, Cannes
- Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes
- Tour de la Castre au Suquet, Cannes
Germany
- Neumünster church, Würzburg
- Rathaus (Town Hall), Würzburg
Italy
- Colosseum, Rome
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Pozzo di San Patrizio (St Patrick’s Well), Orvieto *
- Teatro Alfonso Rendano (Rendano Theatre), Cosenza *
- Castello Normanno-Svevo (Swabian Norman Castle), Cosenza *
- Municipio (Town Hall), Cosenza *
- Fontane Danzanti (Dancing Fountains), Cosenza *
Latvia
Poland
- Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw
- University Bridge, Bydgoszcz
- Spodek (arena), Katowice *
- Galeria Echo (shopping centre), Kielce
- Father Bernatek (Kladka Bernatka) footbridge, Kraków
- Lipska Street flyover, Kraków
- Tauron Arena, Kraków
- Arena Lublin
- Ratusz (Town Hall), Poznań
- Stadion Wroclaw
- Ratusz (Town Hall), Rzeszów
Portugal
- National Sanctuary of Cristo Rei (Christ the King statue), Lisbon
- Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães, Cascais
The Netherlands
Romania
- Sheraton Hotel, Bucharest *
Slovakia
- Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel, Bratislava
Spain
- Plaça de Catalunya, Barcelona *
- Fountains on Gran Via, Barcelona *
- City Council, Murcia *
Switzerland
- The Rhine Falls, near Zurich
Australia and New Zealand
Australia
- Town Hall, Sydney
- State Library of New South Wales, Sydney
- Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane
- Perth Airport *
- The Bell Tower, Perth
- Council House, Perth
- Elizabeth Quay, Perth
- State Library of Victoria, Melbourne
New Zealand
Emerging markets
Brazil
- Christ the Redeemer statue, Rio de Janeiro
- Sede da FIESP (headquarters of Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo), São Paulo*
China
Ethiopia
- Ethiopian Airlines Airbus A350, Addis Ababa *
Israel
- Water Tower, Ramat Gan (near Tel Aviv) *
Japan
- Torii of the Ise Grand Shrine, Ise, Mie Prefecture
- Matsue Castle, Matsue *
- Karakoro Art Studio, Matsue
Kenya
- Rhino statue, Nairobi National Park *
Mozambique
Palestine
- Yasser Arafat Museum, Ramallah *
Russia
Rwanda
- Kigali Convention Centre, Kigali *
South Korea
- Gwangandaegyo (Diamond Bridge), Busan *
United Arab Emirates
- Burj Al Arab hotel, Dubai
Uganda
- Equator Sign and Line, Uganda
Source: Tourism Ireland
