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Hundreds of landmarks across 54 countries go green for St Patrick's Day

St Peter's Cathedral in west Belfast last night lit up green for St Patrick for the first time ever
St Peter's Cathedral in west Belfast last night lit up green for St Patrick for the first time ever St Peter's Cathedral in west Belfast last night lit up green for St Patrick for the first time ever

ST Peter's Cathedral in west Belfast was lit up green last night for the first time ever ahead of St Patrick's Day tomorrow.

The Falls Road cathedral lit up green in honour of Ireland's patron saint after new floodlighting was installed.

The cathedral will light up green each evening for a week.

The venue is among the first to turn green ahead of St Patrick's Day.

Around the world, a total of 430 landmarks in 54 countries will light up green as part of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative.

Among those taking part for the first time is The Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world and the most iconic in Dubai.

Other new sites include Victoria Falls in southern Africa, York’s medieval City Walls, and the Shizuoka Stadium ECOPA in Japan, where Ireland will play Japan in the Rugby World Cup in September.

They will be joined by some old favourites including the Sydney Opera House, the London Eye, the Colosseum, and Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland Paris.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: "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 Ireland offers the warmest of welcomes and great fun, as well as wonderful scenery and heritage.

"We are using every opportunity to capitalise on Ireland’s heightened profile this weekend; the saturation coverage about the island of Ireland across the global airwaves, in newspapers and digital media, is an invaluable boost for our overall 2019 tourism promotional drive".