The national St Patrick's Day parade has been cancelled for the second year in a row due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A series of virtual events will be held in its place, from March 12th to 17th inclusive.
The presentation of this years’ Festival will be through ‘SPF TV’, a St Patrick’s Festival TV channel, which will be located at www.stpatricksfestival.ie and will be accessible globally.
The events will be created by hundreds of artists, musicians, performers, creators, arts and live events workers and community organisations across Ireland.
A statement read: "While we cannot gather on the streets for the St Patrick’s Festival Parade this March 17th, we are reimagining how we bring to life the heart and soul of the national Parade, through spectacle, marching bands, pageantry and ceremony, inviting our audiences to participate virtually and enjoy safely from their homes until we can come together again.
“We are delighted to partner with RTÉ this year in developing the successful #RTÉVirtualParade initiative, and will be announcing details of this in the coming weeks. The RTÉ / SPF Virtual Parade will provide a fun and safe ‘at home’ parade alternative for all the nation to enjoy on March 17th.”
