On Ireland’s national day, March 17th, over 240 sites around the world go green. This is all part of Tourism Ireland’s annual initiative, which sees a host of major landmarks around the world turn green for St Patrick’s Day.

In New Zealand, the Global Greening begins with the very first icon to go green for St Patrick’s Day, the Auckland Sky Tower. This year, New Zealand has five official sites which are participating in the Global Greening. Joining the Sky Tower are Christchurch Airport, Wellington’s Michael Fowler Centre, the Auckland War Memorial Museum and for the first time, Eden Park.

Eden Park is synonymous with rugby and the All Blacks and is New Zealand’s largest and most iconic sports stadium.

Eden Park’s greening is particularly significant given St Patrick’s Day is the eve of Ireland playing England in the final match of the 6 Nations Rugby tournament. All Black supporters are willing that the luck (and skill) of the Irish will prevail and thus prevent England from breaking the All Blacks’ record of consecutive wins.

Guy Ngata, ‎Eden Park’s Chief Executive Officer comments “Eden Park is delighted to share in the celebrations of St Patrick’s Day. We have always enjoyed hosting Ireland and their passionate supporters at the ground”  

This year is a very big year for Irish rugby with the hosting of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in August as well as bidding for the 2023 men’s Rugby World Cup. The bid for the RWC 2023 is based around Ireland’s passion for sport; a reputation for hospitality; and iconic and world-class venues, just a few hours apart.

A 90-second video, 'Ready for the World' (#Ireland2023), has been produced to encapsulate the spirit and theme of the Irish bid, narrated by the distinctive voice of Liam Neeson (it can be viewed at Click here )

Other global sites which will go green include: the London Eye, Nelson’s Column in London, Selfridges department store in London, the Colosseum in Rome, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Burj al Arab in Dubai, the Roue de Paris, the ‘Welcome’ sign in Las Vegas, Niagara Falls, the Empire State Building in New York, and the Great Wall of China.