Tourism Ireland reveals the quirkiest ‘Greenings’ for St Patrick’s Day 2019
What do a leopard statue in Kenya made from re-cycled scrap metal, Finland’s crazy version of Dragons’ Den, a DC-3 airplane in Hong Kong, a giant moose statue in Canada and a street-skating event in Paris have in common? They are just some of the more unusual participants in Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative for St Patrick’s Day 2019.
Perhaps the quirkiest of all of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greenings this year is happening in Oulu, in Northern Finland. It involves an Irish version of an eccentric sub-zero start-up competition, called Polar Bear Pitching – which involves entrepreneurs standing waist-deep in a hole cut through the frozen Baltic Sea for the duration of their pitches. This week, specially for St Patrick’s Day, the ice hole and some intrepid musicians were illuminated in green, with the musicians doing their best to fill the cold night air with traditional Irish music!
Tourism Ireland’s annual Global Greening initiative has gone from strength to strength – from its beginning back in 2010, when just the Sydney Opera House and the Sky Tower in Auckland went green, to this year, which will be the biggest Global Greening to date. Around 420 sites in 53 different countries are signed up to take part for 2019. From Rome to Rio and from London to Las Vegas, a host of famous buildings and sites around the world will be turning a shade of green over the coming days.
As well as the Polar Bear Pitching, other quirky ‘Greenings’ this year include:
- Pari Roller in Paris: one of the biggest street-skating events in the world, which will see hundreds of roller-skaters gliding through the streets of the French capital. They’ll stop at the Palais de Chaillot, where they’ll carry bright green glow sticks to celebrate our national day.
- St Patrick’s Bike Parade in Amsterdam: a festive green procession of bicycles, with the bike wheels illuminated with green LED lights. The parade will bring together two cultures: the bike (iconic for Amsterdam) and St Patrick’s Day (known for parades and turning the world green).
- ‘Niki’ Cathay Pacific DC-3 airplane in Hong Kong: a replica of Cathay Pacific’s second airplane, located in Cathay City, the headquarters of Cathay Pacific.
- a leopard statue called ‘Chiu’ in Kenya: a statue in Karura Forest in Nairobi, made by a local artist from re-cycled scrap metal.
- ‘Mac the Moose’ in the city of Moose Jaw, in Saskatchewan, Canada: a steel and concrete sculpture of a moose, standing 32 feet tall.
- Perlan in Reykjavík: a futuristic, revolving glass-domed restaurant on the top of Öskjuhlíð hill in the Icelandic capital.
- the world’s largest Muskoka chair in Gravenhurst, Canada: at 21 feet high, this distinctive, outdoor chair made of wood is located in the city of Gravenhurst in the Muskoka region of Ontario.
- the Wawa Goose – an 8.5 metre, metal goose statue, which stands along the TransCanada Highway outside the small town of Wawa in northern Ontario, Canada.
- the Big Fiddle of the Ceilidh – the world’s largest fiddle, on Cape Breton Island in Canada.
- two of Australia’s famous ‘Big Things’ – The Big Banana and The Big Kangaroo; and
- a carp statue, called ‘Fridolin’, in the town of Höchstadt an der Aisch, in Bavaria.
2019 marks the tenth year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “This is the tenth year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative and it’s bigger and better than ever this year, with some wonderful (and unusual!) new additions like a leopard statue made from re-cycled scrap metal in Kenya and a parade of bicycles illuminated in green in Amsterdam. St Patrick’s Day traditionally marks the real start of the tourism season for us; our aim is to bring a smile to the faces of people around the world and to convey the message that Ireland offers the warmest of welcomes and great fun, as well as wonderful scenery and heritage.”
New buildings and sites taking part in Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening this year include Victoria Falls, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Lord’s Cricket Pavilion in London, the Guinness Open Gate Brewery and Barrel House in Baltimore and the Absolut Home in Sweden.
A festive procession of ‘greened’ bicycles in Amsterdam is one of Tourism Ireland’s quirky ‘Greenings’.
LANDMARKS AND ICONIC SITES TAKING PART IN TOURISM IRELAND’S GLOBAL GREENING INITIATIVE 2019
Note: first time ‘greenings’ marked *
Great Britain
• Cutty Sark, London *
• London Eye
• Lord’s Pavilion, London *
• Tower 42, London
• Nelson’s Column, London
• Trafalgar Square fountains, London
• Selfridges, London
• Selfridges, Birmingham
• Bamburgh Castle, Bamburgh *
• Bournemouth Pier *
• British Airways i360, Brighton *
• Eden Project, Cornwall *
• St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall *
• Leeds Civic Hall *
• Leeds Town Hall *
• National Space Centre, Leicester *
• Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne
• City Hall, Norwich *
• Emirates Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth
• City Walls, York *
• Riverside Museum, Glasgow *
North America
United States
• Empire State Building, New York
• University of New Mexico, Albuquerque *
• Wells Fargo building, Albuquerque
• Atlanta City Hall *
• Butterfly Bridge, Austin *
• Guinness Open Gate Brewery and Barrel House, Baltimore *
• Boston City Hall
• Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, Boston *
• TD Garden, Boston *
• 875 North Michigan Avenue (John Hancock Center), Chicago
• Chicago Board of Trade building
• Civic Opera House, Chicago
• Irish American Heritage Center, Chicago
• Novak Construction, Chicago
• Odyssey Chicago River (cruise boat) *
• One Prudential Plaza, Chicago
• Soldier Field, Chicago
• United Center, Chicago
• Wrigley Building, Chicago
• Harbor Bridge, Corpus Christi
• Omni Dallas Hotel, Dallas
• Reunion Tower, Dallas
• City Hall, Denver
• City Hall, Houston
• Kansas City Power and Light Building
• Tower Park, Kansas City
• Union Station, Kansas City *
• ‘Welcome’ sign, Las Vegas
• High Roller at The LINQ, Las Vegas
• La Concha Visitors Center, Las Vegas
• Plaza Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
• The Neon Museum, Las Vegas *
• The Palazzo, Las Vegas
• The Venetian, Las Vegas
• Junction Bridge pedestrian walkway, Little Rock
• Main Street bridge, Little Rock
• AT&T Building (known as the ‘Batman Building’), Nashville
• Bridgestone Arena, Nashville
• Grand Ole Opry, Nashville
• John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, Nashville
• Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, Nashville *
• Metro Historic Courthouse, Nashville *
• Nissan Stadium, Nashville *
• The Parthenon, Nashville
• Tennessee Supreme Court Building, Nashville
• San Francisco International Airport (international terminal) *
• San Antonio River
• Hillsborough River, Tampa *
• Kenneth F. Burns Memorial Bridge, Worcester *
Canada
• Niagara Falls (on both the Canadian and US sides)
• Casa Loma, Toronto
• City Hall, Toronto
• CN Tower, Toronto
• The Distillery District, Toronto
• The Cariboo Sentinel (newspaper) shop, Barkerville *
• Calgary Tower, Calgary
• The Big Fiddle of the Ceilidh (Fidheal Mhor A’ Ceilidh), Cape Breton Island
• Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat
• World’s largest Muskoka chair, Gravenhurst *
• Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa
• Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Mac the Moose, Saskatchewan *
• The Wawa Goose
• Sails of Light at Canada Place, Vancouver
Mainland Europe
Albania
• Clock Tower of Tirana *
Austria
• Burgtheater, Vienna
• Bridges on the Danube Canal, Vienna
• Wiener Riesenrad, Vienna
• Bergiselschanze (ski jump), Innsbruck
• SkiWelt Söll
Bulgaria
• National Palace of Culture (NDK), Sofia
• St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo *
Belgium
• Grand Place, Brussels
• Anspach (shopping gallery), Brussels *
• Royal Galleries of St Hubert, Brussels
• Manneken Pis statue, Brussels (“dressed” in Irish costume)
• Burg, Bruges
• Celtic Cross, Fontenoy
• Maasmechelen Village, Genk
• Irish College, Leuven *
• Belfry, Mons
• Lille Gate, Ypres
Croatia
• Sponza Palace, Dubrovnik *
• Trsat Castle, Rijeka
• Fountains in Republic Square, Split *
• Church of St Donatus, Zadar *
• Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, Zagreb *
• Meštrović Pavilion, Zagreb *
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb
• Zagreb fountains, Zagreb
Cyprus
• Town Hall, Nicosia
Czech Republic
• Dancing House, Prague
• City Hall, Ostrava
Denmark
• Bryggebroen bridge, Copenhagen
• Industriens Hus (home of the Confederation of Danish Industry), Copenhagen *
• Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen
Estonia
• Vabaduse Väljak (Freedom Square), Tallinn
• TV Tower, Tallinn *
Finland
• Polar Bear Pitching, Oulu *
• Näsinneula (observation tower), Tampere
• Sauna Kuuma, Tampere *
France
• Beaugrenelle (shopping centre), Paris
• Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris
• Château de la Muette (headquarters of the OECD), Paris
• Drugstore Publicis, Paris
• Galeries Lafayette, Paris
• Irish Embassy, Paris
• Pari Roller (street skating event), Paris *
• Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland Paris
• La Vallée Village, near Paris
• Hôtel de Ville, Athis Mons
• Mairie de Bayeux *
• Arkéa Arena, Bordeaux
• Château de la Ligne, Bordeaux *
• Porte de Bourgogne, Bordeaux
• Hôtel de Ville, Bressuire
• Centre d’art La Malmaison, Cannes
• Hôtel de Ville, Cannes
• La Croisette, Cannes
• Musée de la Castre, Cannes
• Le Suquet, Cannes
• Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes
• Pont Guilvinec-Treffiagat *
• Basilique Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, Guingamp *
• Château de Pierre II, Guingamp *
• Badhus Kaysersberg *
• Église Sainte-Croix de Kaysersberg *
• Mairie de Kaysersberg *
• Pont Fortifié, Kayserberg *
• Château de Beaulieu, Saumur, Loire Valley *
• Opéra de Marseille *
• École primaire publique Pierre Jakez Hélias, Mellac *
• Église Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens, Mellac
• Hôtel de Ville, Mellac
• Aéroport Montpellier Méditerrannée
• Fitzpatrick’s Irish Pub, Montpellier *
• Hôtel de Ville, Saint-Mandé
• Beatus Rhenanus bridge, Strasbourg (and on the German side of the bridge, in Kehl) *
• La Mairie, Villeurbanne
• 45 Le Comptoir Irlandais shops around France *
Georgia
• TV Tower, Tbilisi
Germany
• Funkturm Berlin
• Reichsburg Cochem
• Excelsior Hotel Ernst, Cologne *
• Lanxess Arena, Cologne *
• Lighthouse, Düsseldorf
• Kulturforum Logenhaus, Erlangen *
• Altes Rathaus, Gescher
• McKiernan’s Irish Café, Gescher
• St Antonius Kapelle, Gescher *
• Rathaus, Grafenwöhr *
• Stadthalle, Grafing *
• ‘Fridolin’ the carp statue, Höchstadt an der Aisch
• Ingolstadt Village, Ingolstadt *
• Irish pub, Limberg *
• Alten Küsterhaus, Meerbusch-Büderich *
• Hard Rock Cafe, Munich *
• Olympic Tower, Munich
• Offene Kirche St. Klara, Nürnberg
• Heidecksburg Castle, Rudolstadt
• Königsbau, Stuttgart
• Maria-Ward-Schule, Würzburg *
• Matthias-Grünewald-Gymnasium, Würzburg *
• Neumünster church, Würzburg
• Rathaus, Würzburg
• Riemenschneider-Gymnasium, Würzburg *
• Wertheim Village, near Würzburg *
Greece
• Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens *
Hungary
• Chain Bridge, Budapest
• Jedlik Ányos Bridge, Györ *
• Felszabadulási emlékmű (Liberty monument), Szombathely *
Iceland
• Perlan, Reykjavík
Italy
• Colosseum, Rome
• Irish Embassy (Villa Spada), Rome
• Leaning Tower of Pisa
• Cascata Isola del Liri *
• Cisternino di città, Livorno *
• Gazebo di Terrazza Mascagni, Livorno *
• Il Palazzo ex Convento dell’Annunziata, Matera *
• Fidenza Village, near Milan
• Castel dell’Ovo, Naples *
• Castel Nuovo, Naples *
• Fortezza Albornoz, Orvieto *
• Il Pozzo di San Patrizio (St Patrick’s Well), Orvieto
• Palazzo Municipale Orvieto *
• Castello Aragonese, Reggio Calabria
• Room of the Riace Bronzes in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Reggio Calabria *
Luxembourg
• Hôtel de Ville, Luxembourg city
Malta
• Porte des Bombes, Floriana
Monaco
• Prince’s Palace of Monaco
The Netherlands
• Splendor Amsterdam
• St Patrick’s Light Parade, Amsterdam *
• Uilenburgersjoel, Amsterdam
• De Grote Kerk, The Hague *
• SkyView Scheveningen Pier, The Hague
• Windmill, Weert
Poland
• Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw
• Hotel President, Bielsko-Biala
• University Bridge, Bydgoszcz
• Kosciuszki Street Bridge, Gdańsk
• Uczniowska Street Bridge, Gdańsk
• Baszta Dorotka (Dorothy Tower), Kalisz *
• Centre of Culture and Art, Kalisz *
• City Hall, Kalisz
• Spodek (arena), Katowice
• City Hall, Kielce *
• Galeria Echo (shopping centre), Kielce
• Regional Cultural Centre, Kielce *
• Father Bernatek (Kladka Bernatka) footbridge, Kraków
• Lipska Street flyover, Kraków
• Tauron Arena, Kraków
• Manufaktura, Łódź *
• OFF Piotrkowska (shopping mall), Łódź
• TME Office Centre, Łódź *
• Centre for the Meetings of Cultures, Lublin
• Amphitheatre, Olsztyn *
• Astronomical Observatory Tower, Olsztyn *
• City Hall Tower, Olsztyn *
• National Centre of Polish Song, Opole *
• Adam Mickiewicz University (main auditorium), Poznań *
• Archaeological Museum, Poznań
• Bishop Jordan Bridge, Poznań
• City Hall, Poznań
• Honorary Consulate of Ireland building, Poznań *
• MTP Spire, Poznań
• Poznań Główny (railway station) *
• Raczyński Library, Poznań
• Brama Przemyska Bridge, Przemyśl
• City Hall, Rzeszów
• City Hall, Toruń
• Browar Bojańczyków Cultural Centre, Wloclawek
• Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły bridge, Wloclawek
• Centennial Hall, Wrocław
• Contemporary Museum, Wrocław *
• Grunwaldzki Bridge, Wrocław
• Krzesło Kantora (chair sculpture), Wrocław *
• Lower Silesian Governor’s Office, Wrocław *
• National Museum, Wrocław
• Opera House, Wrocław
• Stadion Wrocław
• Town Hall, Wrocław
• University Bridge, Wrocław
• University of Wrocław
• Wrocław Główny (railway station) *
• Szyb Maciej, Zabrze
• City Hall, Zamość
Portugal
• Cristo Rei statue, Lisbon
• Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães, Cascais
• Castelo de Torres Vedras *
Serbia
• Ada Bridge (Most na Adi), Belgrade
• Palace Albanija, Belgrade
• Hotel Moskva, Belgrade
• Canadian Embassy, Belgrade
• Glavna Pošta (main post office), Belgrade
• House of the National Assembly of Serbia Narodna Skupstina, Belgrade
• Narodni Muzej (National Museum), Belgrade *
Slovak Republic
• Divadlo Aréna, Bratislava *
• New building of the Slovak National Theatre, Bratislava
• Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel, Bratislava
• Andrej Bagar Theatre, Nitra *
• Chrenovský most (bridge), Nitra *
• City Hall, Trnava *
• Trnava University (pedagogy faculty), Trnava *
Slovenia
• Ljubljana Castle, Ljubljana
Spain
• Cibeles Fountain, Madrid
• Puerta de Alcalá, Madrid
• La Rozas Village, near Madrid
• La Roca Village, near Barcelona
• San Mamés stadium, Bilbao
• Tower of Hércules, A Coruña, Galicia
• Marbella arches
• Fuente de los Tres Barcos (fountain of the three boats), Marbella *
• Puente Santo Cristo del Amor (Bridge of Christ of Love), Marbella *
• Town Hall, Marbella *
• Capilla de San Patricio, Pancar
• Ayuntamiento, Tortosa
• Puente del Tortosa, Tortosa
Sweden
• Absolut Home, Åhus *
• Vasa warship, Stockholm
Switzerland
• The Rhine Falls, near Zurich
• Smilestones (indoor miniature world at The Rhine Falls), near Zurich *
Australia and New Zealand
Australia
• Sydney Opera House
• Town Hall, Sydney
• State Library of New South Wales, Sydney
• Irish Embassy, Canberra
• The National Carillon, Canberra
• Telstra Tower, Canberra *
• The Big Kangaroo (‘Rooey II’), Border Village
• The Big Banana, Coffs Harbour
• Melbourne Star Observation Wheel *
• Bell Tower, Perth
• Council House, Perth
• Crown Perth *
• Elizabeth Quay, Perth
• Matagarup Bridge, Perth *
• Optus Stadium, Perth
• Perth Airport
• Yagan Square, Perth
New Zealand
• Sky Tower, Auckland
• Auckland War Memorial Museum
• Eden Park, Auckland
• Christchurch Airport
Emerging Markets
Argentina
• Kirchner Cultural Centre, Buenos Aires *
• Lavalle Street, Buenos Aires
• Obelisk of Buenos Aires
Brazil
• Christ the Redeemer statue, Rio de Janeiro
• Cathedral of Brasília, Brasília
• Teatro Amazonas, Manaus
China
• Great Wall of China
• Canton Tower, Guangzhou
• The Clock Tower, Hong Kong *
• ‘Niki’ Cathay Pacific DC-3 airplane, Hong Kong *
• Ruins of St Paul’s, Macau
• 218 Building, Qujing, Yunnan
• Grand Kempinski Hotel, Shanghai
• Mercedes-Benz Arena, Shanghai *
• Shanghai Village *
• Suzhou Culture and Arts Center *
• Suzhou Village *
Colombia
• Basílica del Señor de Monserrate, Bogotá *
• Torre Colpatria, Bogotá
• Barranquilla Cathedral, Barranquilla *
Ethiopia
• Bete Giyorgis (Church of Saint George), Lalibela *
Israel
• Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa
• Water Tower, Ramat Gan
• City Hall, Tel Aviv
Japan
• Shizuoka Stadium ECOPA, Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture *
• Ise Ohtorii, Ise City
• Karakora Art Studio, Matsue
• Yokohama Marine Tower, Naka Ward, Yokohama
Kenya
• Leopard statue called ‘Chiu’ (made from re-cycled scrap metal), Nairobi *
Paraguay
• López Presidential Palace (Palacio de los López), Asunción
• Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Asunción
Russia
• Central Telegraph building, Moscow
• Izvestia Hall, Moscow
• Rossiya Theatre, Moscow *
Sierra Leone
• The Cotton Tree, Freetown *
Singapore
• Chijmes, Singapore *
South Korea
• Busan Cinema Center, Busan
• Busan Tower, Busan *
Turkey
• Atakule Tower, Ankara *
Uganda
• Source of the Nile Bridge, Jinja *
United Arab Emirates
• Nation Towers, Abu Dhabi *
• Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi
• Burj Al Arab, Dubai
• Burj Khalifa, Dubai *
• Cayan Tower, Dubai
• Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Dubai
• Emirates Golf Club, Dubai
Uruguay
• Gate of the Citadel, Montevideo
Vietnam
• Pen Monument, Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi
• Meliá Hanoi hotel, Hanoi
Zambia
• Victoria Falls *
