A special Irish national broadcast available worldwide is set to welcome the New Year with music, comedy and images of Ireland’s stunning scenery.
Dublin is one of the best places in the world to ring in the New Year with two days of celebrations that light up the city and fill the streets with revellers.
This year, to meet government guidelines around Covid, the festivities are on hold and crowds cannot congregate in the city as normal. However, the fun and exuberance of the evening will be captured in a special broadcast direct from Dublin.
Starting at 22.45 on New Year’s Eve, the programme from Irish national broadcaster RTÉ will show a mix of pre-recorded and live content reaching out to those who could not make it home to Ireland this Christmas season.
Filmed at Dublin’s famous Gaiety Theatre, the programme will kick off with a rousing extract from the internationally successful River Dance.
Top Irish musicians including Sharon Shannon, Mundy, Jerry Fish and Mary Coughlan will perform and there will be an exciting collaboration between the RTÉ orchestra and Tolü Makay.
One of Ireland’s emerging stars, Lyra, will pre-record a performance in Dublin Castle and this will be included in the broadcast.
Capturing the fun of New Year’s Eve will be comedian Pat Shortt, and satirical musings from the Waterford Whispers newsroom presented by Aengus Mac Grianna.
The broadcast will also feature footage from the Irish diaspora and New Year messages from celebrities.
A specially filmed countdown will bring 2020 to an end. Each second will feature a view of one of Ireland’s iconic landmarks, including the Cliffs of Moher, and the final five seconds will be projected onto the Samuel Beckett Bridge on Dublin’s River Liffey.
The New Year will then be heralded by fireworks and a spectacular light show on Dublin Bay as well as footage of Dublin’s Winter Lights on the Custom House and other city buildings.
For people around the world who will miss being in Ireland this year, the broadcast will be a way to connect with home and join with family and friends in welcoming the New Year with laughter and music.
Dublin is already looking forward to next year when it will welcome people back to join in its fantastic New Year Festival and greet 2021 in true Irish style.
www.ireland.comDublin Winter Lights 2020
