Global Greening - 66 countries to shine emerald light on their favourite monuments in show of solidarity

An eclectic display of 670 sites will be lit up green for March 17, as part of Tourism Ireland’s global greening event.

Holland will be shining a green light on its huge Kissing Couple statue. Photo: Nils van Houts

Laura Lynott

March 15 2021 02:30 AM

Ireland is about to mark the biggest ever Global Greening – as 66 countries prepare to shine their best-loved monuments in emerald light to show solidarity with Ireland on St Patrick’s Day.

While the Irish at home and abroad may not be able to mark the March 17 how they’d envisaged, there will be no shortage of merriment and reminders of global friendships on St Patrick’s Day. An eclectic display of 670 sites will be lit up green for March 17, as part of Tourism Ireland’s global greening event.

Among the more eccentric examples are the Tilted Sauna, also dubbed the ‘Drunken Sauna’ – an abandoned facility, tilted on its side on Tampaja Lake, in southern Finland.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “This is the 12th 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 the Tilted Sauna in Finland and a giant troll sculpture in Denmark.”

Bjarke Cirkelsten in Denmark, a huge troll sculpture, is made from recycled wood and created by Copenhagen-based artist Thomas Dambo.

A huge Kissing Couple statue, along a bicycle route between Amsterdam and Zaandam, will also be green for the day. The male statue is a stunning 8.6 metres high and the female is 8.1 metres high.

Important State buildings internationally will also be lit green, including the Embassy of Ireland in London, which will participate in the greening for the first time.

Other newcomers include the New York Irish Center, New York, City Hall in Vancouver, the Irish Embassy, Beijing, BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, the House of Representatives in Nicosia, Cyprus, and the Chambre des Muette (HQ of the OECD) in Paris.

Mr Gibbins said: “Although St Patrick’s Day will be very different this year, Tourism Ireland aims to capitalise on the heightened exposure for Ireland around the globe on March 17, to ensure that Ireland remains ‘top of mind’ as a great holiday destination for bookings when the time is right.”

The global greening initiative has grown annually since its inception in 2010, when just the Sydney Opera House and the Sky Tower in Auckland went green.

Despite Covid-19, countries across the world have reached out to be part of the event, further cementing Ireland’s place in the international psyche this St Patrick’s Day.