Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative is taking off in key tourism markets around the world, with iconic landmarks and sites lighting up in green to mark St Patrick’s Day.
Global Greenings have been a great way to invite everyone around the world to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and Tourism Ireland will be sharing this moment of connection across its social and publicity channels.
Sites lighting up in green for 2026 include the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Empire State Building in New York, Niagara Falls, the CN Tower in Canada, The National Wallace Monument in Scotland, Heidecksburg Castle in Germany, the Cibeles Fountain in Madrid, La Croisette in Cannes, the Grand Place in Brussels and the Sky Tower in Auckland.
These ‘old favourites’ are joined by two quirky additions this year – Jelling Stones, two Viking Age rune stones from the 10th-century in Denmark, and the Bergisel Ski Jump in Innsbruck, Austria.
Alice Mansergh, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “Every year, St Patrick’s Day puts Ireland in the global spotlight and our Global Greening initiative is a wonderful symbol of the deep connections we share around the world. Seeing well-known landmarks illuminated in green creates a shared moment of celebration and connection and reminds people of the warmth and welcome that awaits them in Ireland.
“St Patrick’s Day offers a unique opportunity for tourism to Ireland – both attracting visitors from around the world and teeing up interest and bookings for the season ahead through the heightened profile created. Around 10% of jobs on the island of Ireland are supported by tourism and hospitality, and 6 out of 10 of those jobs depend on overseas visitors. Tourism Ireland is undertaking a major programme of media, travel trade and consumer promotions to capitalise on Ireland’s heightened profile around St Patrick’s Day. Our message is that, while the world goes green for one day, the invitation to explore Ireland lasts all year round.”
The Global Greening initiative is just one element of Tourism Ireland’s extensive St Patrick’s 2026 programme. Further highlights include:
- Tourism Ireland will invite international media to Ireland to stream, broadcast and share reasons to come to our island during St Patrick’s Week. Tourism Ireland’s message will reach an audience of around 350 million via 2,500 pieces of coverage.
- ITV’s This Morning has been broadcasting live from Cork, Limerick and Kerry in the run-up to St Patrick’s Day, with segments fronted by celebrity chef Donal Skehan.
- Tourism Ireland is bringing a taste of the action around the world – including its Ireland Week activities in Paris, Madrid and Milan and its support for St Patrick’s Day parades and festivals in cities around the world. The celebrations in Madrid will showcase Ireland to around 200,000 people, while coverage of the New York parade will be broadcast to around 8 million, all generating buzz for Irish culture and visitation. The live NBC broadcast of the New York parade will feature pre-recorded segments with NBC producer Mike Mathis highlighting Ireland’s culture, heritage and scenery with a special focus on America 250 celebrations and the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann coming to Belfast in August.
- Tourism Ireland new global advertising campaign ‘Ireland Goes Beyond’ is live on TV, cinema, video streaming and digital, and is running across 15+ markets. The campaign celebrates how Ireland goes beyond people’s expectations of a holiday experience, by creating memorable connections with the people and the place.
- Tourism Ireland’s hero St Patrick’s Day video, which includes a haunting cover of Breathless by The Corrs, performed by Irish band Lemoncello, is live across markets and will reach 30 million. The video includes stunning footage of Ireland and captures the excitement of festivities happening around the island on 17th March. The message is that, while the world goes green on one day of the year, Ireland’s beauty is evergreen.
- Tourism Ireland’s busy programme of consumer marketing activity is running across social media, email, website and publicity, in the run-up to and on St Patrick’s Day. The organisation will reach an audience of 7.5 million followers around the world across social channels alone.
