London's St Patricks Day Plans Announced

14.02.05

London's plans for celebrating St Patrick's Day have been unveiled by Mayor Ken. The festival returns to Trafalgar Square, with other events in Leicester Square and Covent Garden.

The 2005 St Patricks Day Celebrations will include:

A London St Patricks Day Parade: groups and floats representing the Irish Counties, bands from Ireland and the UK, street theatre groups, the London Fire Brigade, the Metropolitan Police, sports clubs and London schools will parade from Hyde Park via Piccadilly, Regent Street and Trafalgar Square to Whitehall Place.

A main stage at Trafalgar Square will have vontemporary and traditionalIrish music.

There will be Irish dance and music workshops, a children's play area, plsu Irish arts and crafts and exhibitions.

An Irish artisan food market will be set up at Covent Garden on Saturday March 12 and Sunday March 13 from 11:00 to 18:00. It will feature some of Ireland's finest food and drink producers with a range of foods from Irish cheeses to smoked fish

Other events to celebrate St Patricks Day around London will include:

A classical concert in St James' Piccadilly on Friday March 11. Two of Ireland's leading musicians, Catherine Leonard (violin) and Finghin Collins (piano) will be joined by French cellist Pierre Doumenge

An Irish art exhibition at Jury's Hotel, South Kensington from March 9 to 24 featuring some of Ireland's leading and emerging artists

'Conquering England - Ireland in Victorian London' an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from March 9 to June 26

Irish Luminaries in London - guided walk will take place on March 12.

Plus there will be aBrendan Shine concert 'Celtic Strands', 'A Bit Of A Do' at Artsdepot North Finchely, St Patrick's Day church services, London Irish Centre celebrations and an 'Echoes of Erin' Comhaltas concert.

Mr Livingstone said: 'By celebrating St Patrick's Day, we are marking the enormous contribution that generations of Irish people have made and continue to make to the social, economic and cultural life of our city. I want to see London's St Patrick Day celebrations to grow each year to stand alongside those seen in cities like New York, Boston and Chicago.'

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