The World Turns Green global campaign known as St. Patrick's Day Global Greening is being suspended this year in support of war-ravaged Ukraine and instead the blue and yellow of that country will be highlighted on famous landmarks across the world.
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Launched by Tourism Ireland in 2010, the popular campaign had grown in strength from year to year, with new attractions around the world added as a reflection of Irish pride and solidarity.
Even during the pandemic, the initiative was kept alive, with Australia’s Sydney Opera House among the famous sites to light up in Ireland’s national color.
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Instead of the global greening initiative, Tourism Ireland is turning digital billboards in five major cities across the world into stages as part of a global music festival on St. Patrick's Day.
The Green Button Festival will enable residents in New York, London, Milan, and Sydney to interact with the billboards so that they trigger sound and vision recordings from some of Ireland's top talent.
Performers include the Hothouse Flowers playing at Temple Bar in Dublin, Clannad and Denise Chaila performing in the Poisoned Glen in County Donegal, Ailbhe Reddy at Dublin Castle, and The Pale playing on top of the Tower Museum in Derry/Londonderry.
All passersby have to do is scan the giant QR codes on the digital billboard and press the green button on their phones to activate a performance.
The initiative is geared specifically to the Irish diaspora who can't be in Ireland for the worldwide celebration.
The Green Button Festival is an invitation, says Tourism Ireland to “celebrate Irish heritage, Irish tradition and Ireland's national day in a new and exciting way.”
But you don't have to be near one of the big city billboards to enjoy the experience since it will also be accessible on the Ireland.com website.
The technology behind this exciting new promotion is the first to happen across cities and time zones, all controlled by people's cell phones.