FRANCE & THE GREEN WORLD TO CELEBRATE ST PATRICK´S DAY 2021

USPA NEWS - On the occasion of Saint Patrick's Day 2021, fifty seven (57) sites across France will enrich the very long list of emblematic places around the world which will light up in green, the symbolic color of Ireland. An initiative that reached a popularity record this year, with 690 illuminations in 66 countries. Alongside the Tower of Pisa or Niagara Falls, the Calais Dragon or the Three-masted Duchess Anne will be putting on their most beautiful green clothes this year! Overview of the novelties of this 2021 edition. Patricia O'Brien, Ambassador of Ireland to France, said: "I am delighted that so many cities and buildings across France are participating in the Global Greening event this year. After a very trying year for many, Greening symbolizes a burst of hope and renewal.These initiatives are the fruit of the strength of cultural, economic and historical ties, as well as of the deep friendship that exists between Ireland and France, our neighbor. closest within the European Union ".

SAINT PATRICK´S DAY IS A WORLDWIDE EVENT THAT HIT POPULARITY RECORDS----------------------------------- Saint Patrick´s Day is a renown, worldwide EVENT that reaches popularity records. In this particular year, more places than ever have wished, through this program, to highlight their sentimental connection with Ireland and spread a message of hope and positivity, while waiting for travelers to be able to visit the Emerald Isle again and Irish tourists can come back and visit them. Iconic color of Ireland, green also symbolizes new beginnings, health, renewal, harmony and hope.------------------------ With 690 illuminated sites in 66 countries and the enthusiastic support of Ambassadors, the initiative has never known such enthusiasm. Among the most unusual and visual novelties, let us quote among others the Dragon of Calais, gigantic articulated creature imagined by the Company of the Machine; the “drunk sauna“, an abandoned sauna lying unbalanced on the edge of Tampaja Lake, Finland; “Sekenani Gate“, the main gateway to the Maasai Mara reserve, Kenya; a solar giraffe in Mozambique; or a giant Smurf statue in Brussels.

THERE ARE 57 SITES IN FRNACE HIGHLIGHTED FOR THE OCCASION OF ST PATRICK´S DAY ----------------------- France is one of the countries most involved in this program, with 57 sites participating in the game this year, representing 10 of the 13 French metropolitan regions. It is therefore almost all of France that will be in the colors of Ireland on the occasion of St Patrick's Day, visually and strongly symbolizing the very close ties of friendship and cultural existence between France and France. 'Ireland.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monica MacLaverty, Director of Southern Europe at Irish Tourism, is delighted: “The Global Greening initiative is an opportunity to shine the spotlight on Ireland and to highlight the links between France and Ireland to celebrate the Saint Patrick. This year, nearly 700 monuments and buildings around the world will be illuminated in green, virtually bringing together lovers of Ireland, as well as professionals who work to promote the island of Ireland as a tourist destination, until the French can travel again to our beautiful Emerald Isle. We can assure them that we will give them a welcome of "One Hundred Thousand Welcome" worthy of our reputation! "--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Among the newcomers of 2021, we salute the arrival of some marvels of historical heritage across France: Villa E-1027 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, otherwise called “Maison en bord de mer“, a modernist jewel imagined by Irish architect and designer Eileen Gray in the 1920s, abandoned for years and recently restored and entrusted to the Center des Monuments Nationaux; the Château du Coudreceau, a luxury chateau-hotel-golf course exclusively for private hire in the Loiret, owned by the Irish; The Hôtel de Ville de Calais, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Three-masted Duchesse Anne, in Dunkirk, the largest sailing ship and the last three-masted square preserved in France, considered a masterpiece of naval architecture and classified as an object of historical monuments.

THE MONTMARTRE MUSEUM FLAGSHIP OF IRISH WILL ILLUMINATE ITS HISTORIC WALLS----------------------- In ÃŽle de France (Paris and suburbs), the Montmartre Museum, one of the most charming art museums in Paris, a former place of creation for many artists housed in a 17th century building nestled in the Renoir gardens, will illuminate its walls rich in the history of the hill. At his side, the Chambre des Notaires de Paris, located at Place du Châtelet, as well as the superb Town Hall of Suresnes, will join the list of newcomers to the region.On the south side, Cannes, always faithful to the event, will literally radiate green, from the Croisette to the Hôtel de Ville, passing by the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès and four renowned hotels which, although closed, are doing very well. nice effort to dress in the colors of their country of heart. At Le Suquet, the artist Gaspare Di Caro will create two special illuminations on the theme of Saint-Patrick, on the Chapel of Mercy and the Tower of the Museum of the Castre. In Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, the Vista Palace Hotel will proudly wear the Irish colors, forming, from the Big Blue, a green triangle alongside the Villa E-1027 and the Prince's Palace of Monaco. New to the program, the city of Biarritz will light up its Tourist and Convention Office in particular.

FRANCE AND IRELAND CLOSEST FRIEND & NEGHBOUR IN THE EUROPEAN UNION In the east, the Palais de l'Europe, seat of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, will be joined by the Mairie d'Essert, in the territory of Belfort. To the west, the towns of Angers and Limoges, through the lighting of their Town Halls, will this year become part of the Greenings family. The city of Dieppe will light its famous Arcades de la Bourse and fishmonger. To the north, the city of Dunkirk enters the circle with no less than 5 emblematic sites, while the legendary Dragon of Calais will take over from the Grand Elephant of Nantes, illuminated in 2020. Ireland and France, ever closer Patricia O'Brien, Ambassador of Ireland to France, said: "I am delighted that so many cities and buildings across France are participating in the Global Greening event this year. After a very trying year for many, Greening symbolizes a burst of hope and renewal.These initiatives are the fruit of the strength of cultural, economic and historical ties, as well as of the deep friendship that exists between Ireland and France, our neighbor, closest within the European Union ". Thus, from Antibes to Guingamp and from Granville to Guilvinec, 11 French towns will nod to their twinning with Irish towns by illuminating several of their symbolic sites *. The greening of the ports of Cherbourg, Dunkirk, Roscoff and Saint-Malo, mirroring that of Rosslare in Ireland, will also take on a very particular significance in view of the recent strong growth in maritime access between Ireland and France. Nearly forty weekly direct connections are currently in service between the two countries. Operated by four ferry companies, they connect the ports of Rosslare, Dublin and Cork in Ireland to the ports of Cherbourg, Dunkirk, Roscoff and Saint-Malo. Source: tourisme Irlandais