There will be a St.Patrick’s Day parade this year, just not as we know it.
A virtual parade will replace the official St. Patrick’s Day parade in Ireland this year, which will not go ahead due to ongoing concerns related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin recently confirmed that St. Patrick’s Day parades would not be taking place in Ireland this year as not enough people would be vaccinated to allow any festivities to proceed safely.
While there will be no physical parades, however, organisers of the National St. Patrick’s Festival have confirmed that a virtual version of the festival will go ahead, including a virtual parade on St. Patrick’s Day itself.
In a statement on Wednesday, organisers said they are reimagining how to “bring to life the heart and soul of the national parade, through spectacle, marching bands, pageantry and ceremony, inviting our audiences to participate virtually and enjoy safely from their homes until we can come together again”.
The St. Patrick’s Day Festival will be partnering with RTÉ for the #RTÉVirtualParade initiative and will be announcing further details in the coming weeks of how they will provide a fun and safe ‘at home’ parade for the nation to enjoy on 17 March.
This year’s National St. Patrick’s Festival will run from 12-17 March inclusive through SPF TV, a St. Patrick’s Festival TV Channel, which will be located at www.stpatricksfestival.ie and will be accessible to viewers around the world.
Organisers have promised a “rich and dynamic programme of festival events”, featuring hundreds of artists, musicians, performers, makers, creators, arts and live events workers and community organisations across Ireland.
Updates on the parade and more information on this year’s festival are available on the St. Patrick’s Festival website.
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