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Event Information:
Set to be one of London's liveliest
celebrations of the year, over
100,000 people attended last year's
event. London, since 2002, has had an
annual Saint Patrick's Day parade
which takes place on weekends around
the 17th, usually in Trafalgar
Square. In 2008 the water in the
Trafalgar Square fountains was dyed
green. The parade - a colourful
array of floats, marching bands and
groups representing the Irish
Counties - will proceed through
central London from Green Park to
Trafalgar Square from midday.
Trafalgar Square will host the
festival programme of live Irish
music and dance on the main
performance stage. The parade begins
at Piccadilly at 12 noon, and moves
off along Piccadilly, Lower Regent
Street, Pall Mall East, Trafalgar
Square and Whitehall before
dispersing on Whitehall Place.
In
Great Britain, the Queen Mother used
to present bowls of shamrock flown
over from Ireland to members of the
Irish Guards, a regiment in the
British Army consisting primarily of
soldiers from both Northern Ireland
and the Republic of Ireland. The
Irish Guards still wear shamrock on
this day, flown in from Ireland.
Horse
racing at the Cheltenham Festival
attracts large numbers of Irish
people, both residents of Britain
and many who travel from Ireland,
and usually coincides with Saint
Patrick's Day.
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