Spain is one of 65 countries that are ready to light up their best-loved monuments in green in a display of friendship towards Ireland on St Patrick’s Day. More than 60 monuments and emblematic places in Spain will be illuminated in green light on March 17 to commemorate the patron saint’s Day.
The objective of this initiative, in addition to commemorating this event, is to inspire positivity and hope to the more than 70 million people around the world with Irish roots and to the population in general.
Among the places in Spain that will be illuminated in green on Wednesday, there are several monuments in Madrid such as the Puerta de Alcalá(pictured) or the Cibeles fountain, places with a strong connection with Ireland such as the Old Collegiate Church of San Patricio in Lorca (Murcia) or the Hercules Tower in A Coruña (Galicia) or various institutional buildings such as the Basque Parliament in Vitoria. The Town/City Halls (buildings) of numerous cities such as Valencia, Valladolid, Burgos, Cáceres, Vitoria, Benidorm, Santander among others will also be lit green. Logroño conference centre (in La Rioja) and other newcomers include the Science Museum and the Hemisferic in Valencia.
Although St Patrick’s Day will be quite different this year in Spain and in many other parts of the world; Tourism Ireland, the Irish Embassy in Spain and the Spanish Tourism Office, want Irish people who live in Spain to feel more at home while away from home.
The aim is to highlight the existing connections between Spain and Ireland, which go back from the historical ties of the Celtic era, to the strong ties in relation to Catholicism and the shared history of (common) emigration of both countries.
