The first ever Irish-Finnish ice fishing championship took place on Lake Näsijärvi in the Tampere region, Finland – joining Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative, to celebrate the island of Ireland and St Patrick. The Siilinkari lighthouse and Näsinneula observation tower provided the green backdrop.
WHAT do the Big Banana in Australia, an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft in Addis Ababa and two rhino statues in Nairobi have in common?
They are just some of the more unusual participants in Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative for St Patrick’s Day 2017.
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 looks set to be the biggest Global Greening to date.
More than 240 sites are already signed up to take part (and new sites are coming on board every day).
From Rome to Rio and from London to Las Vegas, a host of buildings and sites around the world will be turning a shade of green over the coming days.
This year’s ‘Greenings’ include some quirky places and things, including:
- three of Australia’s famous ‘Big Things’ – The Big Banana, The Big Kangaroo and The Big Tasmanian Devil;
- two rhino statues – called Kyela and Lankeu (mother and baby), in Nairobi National Park, Kenya;
- the Big Nickel – a giant replica of the Canadian 5-cent coin from 1951, standing nine metres tall in the grounds of the Dynamic Earth science museum in Sudbury, Canada;
- the Big Fiddle of the Ceilidh – the world’s largest fiddle, on Cape Breton Island in Canada;
- Futalognkosaurus (dinosaur) – a lifesize cast skeleton of a dinosaur in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto;
- an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;
- The Kelpies (horse head statues) in Scotland;
- a troupe of ‘greened’ Irish dancers on the London Underground; and
- an Irish-Finnish ice fishing championship in Tampere, Finland.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “This is the eighth 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 Ethiopian Airlines aircraft in Addis Ababa, The Kelpies in Scotland and the rhino statues in Nairobi National Park. 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 we offer the warmest of welcomes and great fun, as well as wonderful scenery and heritage.”
2017 marks the eighth consecutive year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative.
New buildings and sites taking part this year include 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), the beautiful Petit Palais on the Champs-Élysées in Paris and the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc in Barcelona.
An Ethiopian Airlines Airbus in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) joins Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative, to celebrate the island of Ireland and St Patrick.
LANDMARKS AND ICONIC SITES TAKING PART IN TOURISM IRELAND’S GLOBAL GREENING INITIATIVE 2017
Note: first time ‘greenings’ marked *
Great Britain
- London Eye
- London Underground (tube stunt with ‘greened’ St Patrick’s Day dancers)
- Nelson’s Column, London
- Heron Tower, London *
- City Hall, London *
- Selfridges, London
- Selfridges, Birmingham
- Trafford Centre, Manchester
- Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne
- The Kelpies (horse head sculptures), The Helix, Scotland *
North America
United States
- One World Trade Center (formerly Freedom Tower), New York *
- One Bryant Park, New York *
- 4 Times Square, New York *
- Empire State Building, New York
- Aisling Irish Community Center, New York
- Wells Fargo building, Albuquerque
- Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin *
- 360 Residential Condominiums skyscraper, Austin
- City Hall, Boston *
- City Hall, Cedar Park *
- Board of Trade, Chicago
- Civic Opera House, Chicago
- Chicago Gaelic Park
- Irish American Heritage Center, Chicago *
- John Hancock Center, Chicago
- Navy Pier, Chicago
- Novak Construction, Chicago
- Old St Patrick’s Church, Chicago
- One Prudential Plaza, Chicago
- Sheraton Grand Chicago
- Soldier Field, Chicago
- State Street, Chicago
- Wrigley Building, Chicago
- Omni Dallas Hotel *
- Reunion Tower, Dallas
- City Hall, Denver
- City Hall, Houston
- Kansas City Power and Light Building, Kansas City
- Tower Park, Kansas City
- ‘Welcome’ sign, Las Vegas
- Keep Memory Alive Event Center (KMAEC), Las Vegas *
- La Concha Visitors Centre at the Neon Museum, Las Vegas *
- High Roller at The LINQ, Las Vegas
- Plaza Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas (fireworks show in green) *
- Junction Bridge pedestrian walkway and Main Street bridge, Little Rock
- Cira Center, Philadelphia
- City Hall, Philadelphia *
- One and Two Liberty Place and BNY Mellon Center, Philadelphia
- Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia
- Strawberry Mansion Bridge, Philadelphia
- San Antonio River *
- Alamo Quarry Market, San Antonio *
- Bank of America, San Antonio *
- Tower of the Americas, San Antonio *
- City Hall, San Francisco
- Pacific Science Center, Seattle
Canada
- Niagara Falls (on both the Canadian and US sides)
- Calgary Tower, Calgary
- Fidheal Mhor A’ Ceilidh (The Big Fiddle of the Ceilidh), Cape Breton Island *
- Complexe Desjardins, Montreal
- Hôtel de Ville, Montreal
- La Tour McGill (McGill College tower), Montreal
- Place Ville Marie, Montreal
- Verdun Borough Hall, Montreal
- Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa
- Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
- The Big Nickel, Sudbury *
- Futalognkosaurus (dinosaur) in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto *
- Toronto sign
- Casa Loma, Toronto
- The Distillery District, Toronto
- Sail of Lights at Canada Place, Vancouver *
- Whistler (ski resort)
Mainland Europe
Austria
- Burgtheater, Vienna
- Wiener Riesenrad (giant ferris wheel), Vienna
- Ski slope, Söll
- Bergisel Sprungschanze Stadion (ski jump), Innsbruck
- Kaprun Castle, Zell-am-See region
Belgium
- Grand Place, Brussels
- Manneken Pis statue, Brussels (“dressed” in Irish costume)
- City Hall, Antwerp *
- City Hall, Bruges
- Collegiate Church of Notre Dame de Dinant *
- Irish saxophone (on the Charles de Gaulle bridge), Dinant *
- Celtic Cross, Fontenoy *
- Cloth Hall, Ypres *
Bosnia and Herzgovina
- History Museum of BiH, Sarajevo *
Croatia
- ‘Lighting Giants’, Pula
- Trsat Castle, Rijeka *
- New fountains, Zagreb *
Cyprus
- Municipal Town Hall, Nicosia
Denmark
- Bryggebroen bridge, Copenhagen *
Finland
- Restaurant RantaCasino, Heinola
- Irish-Finnish Ice Fishing Championship, Tampere *
- Näsinneula (observation tower), Tampere *
France
- Petit Palais, Paris *
- Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Paris
- Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris
- Château de la Muette (headquarters of the OECD), Paris
- Drugstore Publicis, Paris
- Galeries Lafayette, Paris
- Irish Embassy, Paris
- Roue de Paris, Tuileries Gardens, Paris
- Hôtel de Ville, Cannes
- La Croisette, Cannes
- Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes
- Tour de la Castre au Suquet, Cannes
- Hôtel de Ville, Athis Mons *
- Hôtel de Ville, Bressuire *
- Hôtel de Ville, Grandvilliers *
- Manufacture des Tabacs, Lyon
- Mairie de Villeurbanne, Lyon
- Hôtel de Ville, Saint-Mandé
- Hôtel de Ville, Viarmes *
Georgia
- TV Tower, Tbilisi
Germany
- Funkturm Berlin (radio tower)
- Reichsburg Cochem (Cochem Castle) *
- Rheinturm (Rhine Tower), Düsseldorf *
- ‘Lighthouse’ building, Düsseldorf
- McKier
