David Victor Vector: Saint Patrick's Day and the Greening of Monuments: Rise and Demise of a Soft Power Success Story

The Greening of Monuments

The push for the greening (green lighting) of national icons for St. Patrick's Day was a great success.
Assisted in part by efforts from efforts begun in 2009 through Tourism Ireland, the Irish government encouraged nations across the globe to join in the "greening" for March 17.

From 2009 to 2021, the worldwide "greening" of monuments grew from a mere handful to hundreds. At its height in 2021, Tourism Ireland and (cross-listed with Belfast Vibe) announced that 689 monuments, landmarks or buildings in 66 countries were participating in the Global Greening initiative.

Tauron Arena greenlit, Kraków, Poland

From a branding and public relations perspective, Saint Patrick's Day is also interesting as one of the most effective "soft power" campaigns of any nation. The Irish government and Tourism Ireland began its "Greening" campaign with the goal of convincing governments and organizations to honor Ireland by lighting monuments and landmarks green for Saint Patrick's Day. I personally know of no other soft power campaign that had proven to be so rapidly successful.

End of the Official Irish Global Greening Campaign

As of January 31, 2024, Tourism Ireland officially called an end to the Greening initiative. As reported in The Journal (Dublin), Tourism Ireland has ended the official support for the Global Greening, noting instead that Irish missions abroad would make individual choices whether to do so. The missions were told that they could have "high profile greenings as appropriate."

For all its importance as a soft power success, the Global Greening initiative fell victim to

politicization. The great strength of the Global Greening initiative was in its apolitical promotion of Ireland representing perhaps the single most-recognized association of a nation with a color supporting positive feeling toward Ireland and the Irish diaspora. Within two years, this classic soft power success story had collapsed to align with the transitory current political issues of the day. However admirable the political issues of the day may have seemed at the time, the Global Greening initiative could not withstand two separate pauses in 2022 and 2023 that had nothing to do with Ireland itself.

The 2024 decision end of Ireland's official government support made official what unofficially had resulted from two years without support for the Greening initiative.

In 2022, the first Global Greening was replaced with a political message in support of Ukraine. In respect for the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Global Greening organizers demurred in coloring the monuments blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. However noble the government of Ireland felt the cause of Ukrainian sovereignty was, the fact remained that replacing the greening with blue and yellow was a political statement that had nothing to do with representing Ireland's soft power initiative.

In 2023, missions were encouraged to pause the green-lighting to conserve energy, stating: "For 2023, given the current energy crisis, Tourism Ireland has taken the decision not to promote the Global Greening initiative." The irony of using energy for a campaign called "greening" had a certain irony to it, not missed on its critics. Still, cancelling the Global Greening amounted to little more than "greenwashing" on the Irish government's part because the energy involved is negligible. Science Foundation Ireland's Science Director Dr Ruth Freeman, interviewed on Pat Kennys Green Scene national television RTÉ, called the cancellation little more than tokenism: “I mean look, an LED light uses very, very little power... You're talking about 0.01 of a kilowatt for an hour so it is not going to be huge energy use – and these things are probably going to be lit up anyway."

This post is only on the greening movement and its demise. For more on the holiday and how it is celebrated in terms of religion, please see my post Saint Patrick's Day: Some Background to the Holiday For how the holiday is celebrated with parades, river dying and the like around the world, please see my post Saint Patrick's Day Parades and Celebrations Around the World.

The Global Greening Movement at Its Height

What follows is a list of those monuments greenlit up until 2021 divided by region and country.
The list is in order of number of monuments in the greening with those countries with over 10, then by region for the remainder. After Ireland itself, the United States leads the world with 78 greenlit buildings and monuments. The remaining top six (with over 20) are as follows: Poland second with 53 greenlit sites; France third with 46 greenlit; the United Kingdom fourth with 36, Germany, fifth with 29; Canada fifth with 27, and the United Arab Emirates sixth with 21. Additionally, separately listed here are the nations with 10 or more: Italy, Australia, Spain, China, Belgium, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.

United States (78)

Arkansas
•   Junction Bridge pedestrian walkway, Little Rock
•   Main Street bridge, Little Rock
California
•   City Hall, San Francisco
•   San Francisco International Airport (international terminal)

San Francisco City Hall lit green

Colorado
• City Hall, Denver
• Reunion Tower, Denver

Florida

• Ringling Bridge, Sarasota

• Hillsborough River, Tampa

Georgia
• Atlanta City Hall, Atlanta

• Woodruff Park Fountain, Atlanta

• Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Savannah

• City Hall, Savannah

• Forsyth Park Fountain, Savannah

Illinois
•   Chicago Board of Trade Building, Chicago
•   Civic Opera House, Chicago
•   Irish American Heritage Center, Chicago
• John Hancock Center, Chicago
•   Novak Construction, Chicago
•   Odyssey Chicago River (cruise boat)
•   One Prudential Plaza, Chicago
•   Soldier Field, Chicago
•   United Center, Chicago
•   Wrigley Building, Chicago
Maryland
•   Guinness Open Gate Brewery and Barrel House, Baltimore
Massachusetts
•   Boston City Hall
• Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, Boston
•   Fenway Park, Boston
•   TD Garden, Boston
•   Kenneth F. Burns Memorial Bridge, Worcester
Missouri
•   Kansas City Power and Light Building
•   Tower Park, Kansas City
•   Union Station, Kansas City

Greenlit Empire State Building, New York

New Mexico
•   University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
•   Wells Fargo Building, Albuquerque
New York

• Albany International Airport Gateway

• Alfred E. Smith Office Building, Albany

• H. Carl McCall SUNY Building, Albany

• State Education Building, Albany

• Main Street Lift Bridge, Fairport

• Grand Central Terminal, New York City

• Empire State Building, New York City

• Kosciusko Bridge, New York City

• One World Trade Center, New York City

• FDR Mid-Hudson Bridge, Poughkeepsie

• Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, Rockland/Westchester

• New York State Fairgrounds Main Gate and Expo Center, Syracuse

•   Aisling Irish Community Center, Yonkers
Nevada
•   ‘Welcome’ sign, Las Vegas
•   High Roller at The LINQ, Las Vegas
•   La Concha Visitors Center, Las Vegas
•   Plaza Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
•   The Neon Museum, Las Vegas
•   The Palazzo, Las Vegas
•   The Venetian, Las Vegas
Pennsylvania
•   BNY Mellon Center, Philadelphia
•   Cira Center, Philadelphia
•   City Hall, Philadelphia
• Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia
•   One & Two Liberty Center, Philadelphia
•   Strawberry Mansion Bridge, Philadelphia
South Carolina
•   Ashley River Memorial Bridge, Charleston
Tennessee
•   AT&T Building (known as the ‘Batman Building’), Nashville
•   Bridgestone Arena, Nashville
•   Grand Ole Opry, Nashville
•   John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, Nashville
•   Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, Nashville
•   Metro Historic Courthouse, Nashville
•   Nissan Stadium, Nashville
•   The Parthenon, Nashville
•   Tennessee Supreme Court Building, Nashville
Texas
•   Butterfly Bridge, Austin
•   Harbor Bridge, Corpus Christi
•   Omni Dallas Hotel, Dallas
•   Reunion Tower, Dallas
•   City Hall, Houston
•   Alamo Quarry Market, San Antonio
•   Bank of America, San Antonio
• Tower of the Americas, San Antonio
Washington
•   Pacific Science Center, Seattle

Poland (52)

•   Hotel President, Bielsko-Biala
•   University Bridge, Bydgoszcz
•   Kosciuszki Street Bridge, Gdańsk
•   Uczniowska Street Bridge, Gdańsk
•   Baszta Dorotka (Dorothy Tower), Kalisz
•   Centre of Culture and Art, Kalisz
•   City Hall, Kalisz
•   Spodek (arena), Katowice
•   City Hall, Kielce
•   Galeria Echo (shopping centre), Kielce
•   Regional Cultural Centre, Kielce
•   Father Bernatek (Kladka Bernatka) footbridge, Kraków
•   Lipska Street flyover, Kraków
•   Tauron Arena, Kraków
•   Manufaktura, Łódź
•   OFF Piotrkowska (shopping mall), Łódź
•   TME Office Centre, Łódź
•   Arena Lublin
•   Centre for the Meeting of Cultures, Lublin
•   Museum of Malbork
•   Amphitheatre, Olsztyn
•   Astronomical Observatory Tower, Olsztyn
•   City Hall Tower, Olsztyn
•   National Centre of Polish Song, Opole
•   Adam Mickiewicz University (main auditorium), Poznań
•   Archaeological Museum, Poznań
•   Bishop Jordan Bridge, Poznań
•   City Hall, Poznań
•   Grand Theatre, Poznań
•   Honorary Consulate of Ireland building, Poznań
•   Poznań Główny (railway station)
•   Raczyński Library, Poznań
•   Brama Przemyska Bridge, Przemyśl
•   City Hall, Rzeszów
•   City Hall, Toruń
•   Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw
•   Browar Bojańczyków Cultural Centre, Wloclawek
•   Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły bridge, Wloclawek
•   Centennial Hall, Wrocław
•   Contemporary Museum, Wrocław
•   Grunwaldzki Bridge, Wrocław
•   Krzesło Kantora (chair sculpture), Wrocław
•   Lower Silesian Governor's Office, Wrocław
•   National Museum, Wrocław
•   Opera House, Wrocław
•   Stadion Wrocław
•   Town Hall, Wrocław

Wroclaw Opera House in green

•   University Bridge, Wrocław
•   University of Wrocław
•   Wrocław Główny (railway station)
•   Szyb Maciej, Zabrze
•   City Hall, Zamość

France (46)

•   Hôtel de Ville, Athis Mons
•   Mairie de Bayeux
•   Arkéa Arena, Bordeaux
•   Château de la Ligne, Bordeaux
•   Porte de Bourgogne, Bordeaux
•   Hôtel de Ville, Bressuire
•   Centre d’art La Malmaison, Cannes
•   Hôtel de Ville, Cannes
•   La Croisette, Cannes
•   Musée de la Castre, Cannes
•   Le Suquet, Cannes
•   Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes
•   Pont Guilvinec-Treffiagat
•   Basilique Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, Guingamp
•   Château de Pierre II, Guingamp
•   Badhus Kaysersberg
•   Château de Kaysersberg
•   Mairie de Kaysersberg
•   Pont Fortifié, Kayserberg
•   Château de Beaulieu, Saumur, Loire Valley
•   Astroballe, Lyon
• Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Lyon
•   Le Palais de Justice, Lyon
•   Musée des Confluences, Lyon
•   Le Palais de Justice, Lyon
•   Opéra de Marseille
•   École primaire publique Pierre Jakez Hélias, Mellac
•   Église Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens, Mellac
•   Hôtel de Ville, Mellac
•   Aéroport Montpellier Méditerrannée
•   Fitzpatrick’s Irish Pub, Montpellier
•   Opéra Comédie, Montpellier
•   Beaugrenelle (shopping centre), Paris
•   Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris
•   Château de la Muette (headquarters of the OECD), Paris

Sacré-Coeur greenlit in Paris

•   Drugstore Publicis, Paris
•   Galeries Lafayette, Paris
•   Irish Embassy, Paris
•   Pari Roller (street skating event), Paris
•   Roue de Paris (Ferris Wheel of Paris), Paris
• Sacré-Coeur, Paris
•   Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland Paris
•   La Vallée Village, near Paris
•   Hôtel de Ville, Saint-Mandé
•   Beatus Rhenanus bridge, Strasbourg (and on the German side of the bridge, in Kehl)
•   La Mairie, Villeurbanne

United Kingdom (36)

England
• Bamburgh Castle, Bamburgh

• Blackpool Tower, Blackpool

• Library of Birmingham, Birmingham

• Selfridges, Birmingham

• Bournemouth Pier
• British Airways i360, Brighton

• Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol

• Leeds Civic Hall
• Leeds Town Hall

• National Space Centre, Leicester

• George's Dock Building, Liverpool

• St Luke's 'Bombed Out' Church, Liverpool

• Blue Whale Skeleton of Natural History Museum, London

• Cutty Sark, London

The London Eye greenlit

• London Eye, London

• Lord’s Pavilion, London

• The Old Vic, London

• The National Theatre, London

• Nelson’s Column, London

• Tower 42, London

• Trafalgar Square Fountains, London

• Selfridges, London

• St. Bede's College, Manchester

• Trafford Center, Manchester

• Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne

• City Hall, Norwich

• Wollaton Hall, Nottingham

• Emirates Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth

• Stoke Park Golf Club - Buckinghamshire, Stoke Poges

• City Walls, York

Cornwall

• Eden Project, St. Blaizey

• St Michael's Mount, Marazion

Scotland
• Caird Hall, Dundee

• Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

• Riverside Museum, Glasgow
• Titanic Museum, Glasgow

Wales
• Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly

Germany (29)

•   Funkturm Berlin
•   Reichsburg Cochem
•   Excelsior Hotel Ernst, Cologne
•   Lanxess Arena, Cologne
•   Lighthouse, Düsseldorf
•   Kulturforum Logenhaus, Erlangen
•   Altes Rathaus, Gescher
•   McKiernan's Irish Café, Gescher
•   St Antonius Kapelle, Gescher
•   Rathaus, Grafenwöhr
•   Stadthalle, Grafing
•   ‘Fridolin’ the carp statue, Höchstadt an der Aisch

‘Fridolin’ the carp greenlit
Höchstadt an der Aisch

•   Ingolstadt Village, Ingolstadt
•   Irish pub, Limberg
•   Alten Küsterhaus, Meerbusch-Bäderich
•   Allianz Arena Munich
•   Hard Rock Cafe, Munich

• Odeonplatz, Munich

•   Olympic Tower, Munich
•   Offene Kirche St. Klara, Nürnberg
•   Heidecksburg Castle, Rudolstadt
•   Hotel Bell Rock (Europa Park), Rust
•   Königsbau, Stuttgart
•   Maria-Ward-Schule, Würzburg
•   Matthias-Grünewald-Gymnasium, Würzburg
•   Neumünster church, Würzburg
•   Rathaus, Würzburg
•   Riemenschneider-Gymnasium, Würzburg
•   Wertheim Village, near Würzburg

Canada (27)

Alberta

•   Calgary Tower, Calgary

British Columbia
•    The Cariboo Sentinel (newspaper) shop, Baskerville
•   Sails of Light at Canada Place, Vancouver
•   Whistler Ski Resort, Whistler

Newfoundland and Labrador
  •   Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, St John’s

Nova Scotia
•   The Big Fiddle of the Ceilidh (Fidheal Mhor A’ Ceilidh), Cape Breton Island

Ontario
• PolarBear Habitat, Cochrane
•   World's Largest Chair, Muskoka, Gravenhurst \
•   Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa
•   Niagara Falls (on both the Canadian and US sides)
•   The Big Nickel, Sudbury
• Breakfast Television Studio, Toronto
•   Casa Loma, Toronto
•   City Hall, Toronto
•   CN Tower, Toronto
•   Courtyard by Marriott, Toronto
•   The Distillery District, Toronto
•   Turbo the Goat, Toronto
•   The Wawa Goose, Wawa

Québec
• City Hall (Hôtel de Ville), Montréal
• Complexe Desjardins, Montréal
•   McGill Tower (La Tour McGill), Montréal
•   McTavish Resevoir (Réservoir McTavish), Montréal
• Olympic Stadium (Stade Olympique), Montréal
• St. Patrick's Basilica (Basilique Saint-Patrick), Montréal
• Verdun Borough Hall (Mairie d'arrondissement de Verdun), Montréal

Saskatchewan
•   Mac the Moose, Moosejaw, Saskatchewan

United Arab Emirates (21)

An expanse of the desert itself lit green in Dubai

• Abu Dhabi University -- Al Ain Campus

• Arabian desert, Dubai

• Edition in Al Bateen Marina, Abu Dhabi

• InterContinental Abu Dhabi
• Nation Towers, Abu Dhabi
• Yas Viceroy Hotel, Abu Dhabi

•   Burj Al Arab, Dubai
•   Burj Khalifa, Dubai
•   Cayan Tower, Dubai
•   Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, Dubai
•   Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Dubai

• Global Village, Dubai

• Emerald Palace Kempinski, Dubai

• Emirates Golf Club, Dubai

• Holiday Inn Festival City, Dubai

• Intercontinental Hotel Festival City, Dubai

• Palm Fountain, Dubai

• Palm Jumeirah Monorail, Dubai

• Retreat Palm by Sofitel, Dubai

• Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

• Hilton Garden Inn. Ras Al Khaimah

Burj Khalifa, Duba -- The world's tallest building goes green

Italy (19)

•   Teatro Alfonso Rendano, Cosenza
•   Cascata Isola del Liri
•   Cisternino di città, Livorno
•   Gazebo di Terrazza Mascagni, Livorno
•   Piazza Mercurio, Massa
•   Il Palazzo ex Convento dell’Annunziata, Matera
•   Fidenza Village, near Milan
•   Il Palazzo del Modesta, Modesta
•   Castel dell'Ovo, Naples
•   Castel Nuovo, Naples
•   Fortezza Albornoz, Orvieto
•   Il Pozzo di San Patrizio (St Patrick’s Well), Orvieto
•   Palazzo Municipale Orvieto
•   Leaning Tower of Pisa
•   Castello Aragonese, Reggio Calabria
•   Room of the Riace Bronzes in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Reggio Calabria
•   Colosseum, Rome
•   Irish Embassy (Villa Spada), Rome
•   Mole Antonelliana, Torino

Colosseum greenlit in Rome

Australia (19)

•   The Big Kangaroo (‘Rooey II’), Border Village
•   Irish Embassy, Canberra
•   The National Carillon, Canberra

National Carillon, Canberra, in green

•   Telstra Tower, Canberra
•   The Big Banana, Coffs Harbour
• The Big Merino Sheep, Goldburn
• Star Observation Wheel, Melbourne
• Victoria State Library, Melbourne
•   Bell Tower, Perth
•   Council House, Perth
•   Crown Perth
•   Elizabeth Quay, Perth
•   Matagarup Bridge, Perth

•   Optus Stadium, Perth
•   Perth Airport
•   Yagan Square, Perth
•   Sydney Opera House
•   Town Hall, Sydney
•   State Library of New South Wales, Sydney

Spain (14 )

Madrid's Cibeles Fountain shining green

•   La Roca Village, near Barcelona
•   San Mamés stadium, Bilbao
•   Tower of Hércules, A Coruña, Galicia
•   Cibeles Fountain, Madrid
•   Puerta de Alcalá, Madrid
•   La Rozas Village, near Madrid
•   Marbella arches
•   Fuente de los Tres Barcos, Marbella
•   Puente Santo Cristo del Amor, Marbella
•   Town Hall, Marbella
•   Capilla de San Patricio, Pancar
•   Ayuntamiento, Santander
•   Ayuntamiento, Tortosa
•   Puente del Tortosa, Tortosa

China (11)

Great Wall of China greenlit

•   Great Wall of China
•   Canton Tower, Guangzhou
•   The Clock Tower, Hong Kong
•   ‘Niki’ Cathay Pacific DC-3 airplane, Hong Kong
•   Ruins of St Paul’s, Macau
•   218 Building, Qujing, Yunnan
•   Grand Kempinski Hotel, Shanghai
•   Mercedes-Benz Arena, Shanghai
•   Shanghai Village
•   Suzhou Culture and Arts Center
•   Suzhou Village

Belgium (11)

• Burg, BrugesGrand Place, Brussels

• Anspach (shopping gallery), Brussels

• Royal Galleries of St Hubert, Brussels
• Manneken Pis statue, Brussels (“dressed” in Irish costume)

• Smurf Statue, Brussels

•   Celtic Cross, Fontenoy
•   Maasmechelen Village, Genk
•   Irish College, Leuven
•   Belfry, Mons
•   Lille Gate, Ypres

Mexico (10)

• Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, Cholula
• Los Arcos (Minerva Monument), Guadalajara
• Municipal Palace, Guadalajara
• Paseo de Chapultepec, Guadalajara
• Rotonda de los Jaliscienses Ilustres, Guadalajara
• Alvaro Obregón Monument, Mexico City
• El Angel de la Indepencía, Mexico City

El Angel de la Indepencía

• Monument of the Niños Héroes, Mexico City
• Municipal Palace, Mexico City
• Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City

Other Europe (92)

Albania
• Clock Tower of Tirana
Austria

•   Burgtheater, Vienna
•   Bridges on the Danube Canal, Vienna
•   Wiener Riesenrad, Vienna
•   Bergiselschanze (ski jump), Innsbruck
•   SkiWelt Söll

Burgtheater, Vienna in green

Bulgaria
• National Palace of Culture (NDK), Sofia
• St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo

Croatia

•   Sponza Palace, Dubrovnik
•   Molo Longo, Rijeka
•   Trsat Castle, Rijeka
•   Fountains in Republic Square, Split
•   Church of St Donatus, Zadar
•   Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, Zagreb
•   Meštrović Pavilion, Zagreb
•   Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb
•   Zagreb fountains, Zagreb

Cyprus
•   Town Hall, Nicosia
Czech Republic
•   Mahen Theater, Brno
•   City Hall, Ostrava
•    Dancing House, Prague
•    Petrin Lookout Tower Prague
Denmark

Copenhagen's Little Mermaid
goes green for St. Patrick's Day

•   Bryggebroen bridge, Copenhagen
•   Den Blå Planet (national aquarium), Copenhagen
•   GreenKayak clean-up, Copenhagen
•   Industriens Hus (home of the Confederation of Danish Industry), Copenhagen
• Little Mermaid Harbor Statue, Copenhagen
•   Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen

Estonia
• Skywheel Ferris Wheel, Tallinn

• TV Tower, Tallinn

• Vabaduse Väljak (Freedom Square), Tallinn

Finland

• The Drunken Sauna, Kirkkonummi

The Drunken Sauna, Kirkkonummi

•   Radio Towers, Lahti
•   Polar Bear Pitching, Oulu
•   Näsinneula (observation tower), Tampere

Georgia
• TV Tower, Tbilisi

Greece
• Arch of Hadrian, Athens

• Stathatos Mansion of the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens
Hungary
•   Chain Bridge, Budapest
•   Müpa Budapest
•   Jedlik Ányos Bridge, Györ
•   Felszabadulási emlékmű (Liberty monument), Szombathely
Iceland
•   Perlan, Reykjavík

Luxembourg
•   Hôtel de Ville, Luxembourg City
Malta
• Forti Sant’Anġlu, Birgu
•   Porte des Bombes, Floriana
•   Love Monument, St. Julian's
Monaco
•   Prince’s Palace of Monaco
The Netherlands
• Museumplein I "heart" Amsterdam Sign, Amsterdam
• Splendor Amsterdam
•   St Patrick’s Bike Parade, Amsterdam
•   Uilenburgersjoel, Amsterdam
•   De Grote Kerk (and Statue of Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam), The Hague
•   SkyView Scheveningen Pier, The Hague

• Kissing Couple, Hempont (on bike path between Amsterdam and Zaandam)

• Windmill, Weert

Kissing Couple, Hempont

Norway

• Mt. Ulriken TV Mast, Bergen
Portugal
•   Cristo Rei statue, Lisbon
•   Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães, Cascais
•   Castelo de Torres Vedras

Russia
• Central Telegraph building, Moscow
• Izvestia Hall, Moscow

• Rossiya Theatre, Moscow

Serbia

•   Ada Bridge (Most na Adi), Belgrade
•   Palace Albanija, Belgrade
•   Hotel Moskva, Belgrade
•   Canadian Embassy, Belgrade
•   Glavna Pošta (main post office), Belgrade
•   House of the National Assembly of Serbia Narodna Skupstina, Belgrade
•   Narodni Muzej (National Museum), Belgrade ]

Slovak Republic

•   Divadlo Aréna, Bratislava ]
•   New building of the Slovak National Theatre, Bratislava
•   Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel, Bratislava
•   Andrej Bagar Theatre, Nitra
•   Chrenovský most (bridge), Nitra
•   City Hall, Trnava
•   Trnava University (pedagogy faculty), Trnava

Slovenia
• Ljubljana Castle, Ljubljana

Sweden
•   Absolut Home, Åhus
•   Vasa warship, Stockholm
Switzerland
•   The Rhine Falls, near Zurich
•   Smilestones (indoor miniature world at The Rhine Falls), near Zurich

Other Asia/Pacific (19 with 3 new)

Japan
• Shizuoka Stadium ECOPA, Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture

•   Ise Ohtorii, Ise City
•   Karakora Art Studio, Matsue
•   Matsue Castle, Matsue

• Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris Wheel, Yokahoma

• Yokohama Marine Tower, Naka Ward, Yokohama

Matsue Castle greenlit

Malaysia
• Straits Quay Lighthouse, Penang

New Zealand

•   Sky Tower, Auckland
•   Chief Post Office, Auckland
•   Eden Park, Auckland
•   War Memorial, Auckland
•   Christchurch Airport, Christchurch
•   New Brighton Pier, Christchurch
• Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington

Singapore

•   Chijmes, Singapore *
South Korea
•   Busan Cinema Center, Busan
•   Busan Tower, Busan *
•   City Hall, Seoul

Vietnam
• Pen Monument, Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi
• Meliá Hanoi hotel, Hanoi

Other Middle East (8)

Egypt
•   The Pyramids, Giza
•   The Sphinx, Giza
Israel
•   Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa
•   Water Tower, Ramat Gan

• City Hall, Tel Aviv

Lebanon
• Nejmeh Square, Beirut

Qatar

• Barahat Msheireb, Doha
Turkey

• Atakule Tower, Ankara

Other Latin America (13)

Argentina
•   Kirchner Cultural Centre, Buenos Aires
•   Lavalle Street, Buenos Aires
•   Obelisk of Buenos Aires
Brazil
•   Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro
•   Cathedral of Brasília, Brasília
•   Teatro Amazonas, Manaus

Christ the Redeemer Statue greenlit overlooking Rio

Chile
•   Statue of the Virgin Mary, Serro San Cristobal
Colombia
•   Santuario de Monserrate, Bogotá
•   Torre Colpatria, Bogotá
•   Cerro de las Tres Cruces, Cali

Paraguay
• López Presidential Palace (Palacio de los López), Asunción
• Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Asunción

Uruguay
• Gate of the Citadel, Montevideo

Africa (8)

Ahmed the Elephant, Nairobi

Ethiopia
• Lion of Judah Statue, Addis Ababa
• Bete Giyorgis (Church of Saint George), Lalibela
Kenya

• Ahmed the Elephant Statue of the National Museum, Nairobi
• Leopard statue called ‘Chiu’ (made from re-cycled scrap metal), Nairobi

Sierra Leone
• The Cotton Tree, Freetown
South Africa
• Nelson Mandela Statue, Johannesburg
Uganda

• Source of the Nile Bridge, Jinja *

Zambia
• Victoria Falls

Closing Comments

As always, I am delighted to hear your thoughts on this. If you have any points I should add, please let me know for the future... or if you just want to say that you liked this (or not), I would love to hear from you.

Also, if you would like to share a tradition in your family or just give mention to a St. Patrick's Day parade or festivity in your hometown, please feel free to add it in the comments section.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Want To Learn More?

Borgna Brunner, "St. Patrick's Day: Until Recently, More Dallas Than Dublin -- A Short History of the Holiday": http://www.infoplease.com/spot/stpatsintro1.html

Joseph Caputo, "Unusual Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations," http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Unusual-St-Patricks-Day-Celebrations.html?c=y&page=2

Catholic Saints.net, "Saint Patrick": http://www.stpatrick.name/

Mary Anne Cusack, Saint Patrick (from An Illustrated History of Ireland), Library Ireland: http://www.libraryireland.com/HistoryIreland/St-Patrick.php

"Patrician Power," Ireland of the Welcomes, Jan/Feb 2012, pp. 14-19.

"Saint Patrick," Catholic Online: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89

Saint Patricks Day.com: http://stpatricksday.com/

"Saint Patrick in America/St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin," Ireland of the Welcomes, March/April 2012, pp. 14-19.

Saint Patrick's Day Parade.com: http://www.saintpatricksdayparade.com/\\

Tourism Ireland, "Green Lights Go Global for St. Patrick's Day Celebrations!" (March 15, 2019), https://www.tourismireland.com/Press-Releases/2019/March/Green-lights-go-global-for-St-Patrick%E2%80%99s-celebratio

Clip Art and Photo Sources

Tauron Arena greenlit, Kraków, Poland https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/poland/news-and-events/2016/st-patricks-day-greenings/

Greenlit Empire State Building, New York: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/st-patricks-day-2019-world-landmarks-green-sydney-opera-house-empire-state-building-london-eye-a8826091.html

San Francisco City Hall lit green: https://www.kqed.org/news/11428075/whos-behind-the-colorful-lights-at-san-francisco-city-hall

Wroclaw Opera House in green: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/st-patricks-day-2019-world-landmarks-green-sydney-opera-house-empire-state-building-london-eye-a8826091.html

‘Fridolin’ the carp greenlit, Höchstadt an der Aisch: https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/travel/2021/0315/1204072-the-quirkiest-greenings-happening-for-st-patricks-day-2021/

Sacré-Coeur greenlit in Paris: https://www.ireland.com/en-us/what-is-available/christian-heritage/articles/global-greenings/

The London Eye greenlit: https://www.ireland.com/en-us/what-is-available/christian-heritage/articles/global-greenings/

The Drunken Sauna, Kirkkonummi: https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/travel/2021/0315/1204072-the-quirkiest-greenings-happening-for-st-patricks-day-2021/

Colosseum greenlit in Rome: https://www.ireland.com/en-us/what-is-available/christian-heritage/articles/global-greenings/

Kissing Couple, Hempont: https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/travel/2021/0315/1204072-the-quirkiest-greenings-happening-for-st-patricks-day-2021/