'Green wave' travels around the world

Iconic buildings around the world are going green for St. Patrick's Day.

The first of the celebrations kicked off as the sun set in New Zealand and the Sky Tower in Auckland was bathed in green light.

The ‘green wave’ continues with the Burj Al Arab in Dubai and Table Mountain in South Africa next to turn green; then it’s the turn of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, the Puerta de Alcalá monument in Madrid and the London Eye; followed a few hours later by the Empire State Building in New York and the CN Tower in Toronto.

Tourism Ireland is behind the 'green initiative', which marks the beginning a €28m spring promotional drive to encourage people to visit here.

"We are using every opportunity to capitalise on Ireland’s heightened profile this week; the saturation coverage about Ireland across the global airwaves, in newspapers and digital media, is an invaluable boost for our overall tourism marketing drive," said Tourism Ireland Chief Executive Niall Gibbons.