Skyfest and live Lotto set to draw 150,000 visitors to city for St Patrick's Day festivities
THE decision to base the prestigious Skyfest event in Limerick will kickstart a week of St Patrick's Day festivities that could bring up to 150,000 visitors to the city.
This is just the third time that the National Lottery sponsored firework spectacular will be held outside Dublin, and on Saturday, March 13, not only will the skies over Limerick light up with 1.5 tonnes of fireworks, the National Lottery will also hold their Lotto draw live in Arthur's Quay Park immediately after the event, with an extra €2m added to the jackpot.
The event was launched this Wednesday in Limerick, with National Lottery chief Dermot Griffin telling the Limerick Leader that the city was the "natural choice" to stage the Skyfest event, admitting that securing the event was something every city in Ireland would wish for.
"It is going to be a super show. The size of the city and the number of people expected to attend on the night, all lead us to the conclusion that Limerick would be a fabulous venue to have it, and we think it is going to be the biggest and best Skyfest ever," said Mr Griffin.
Award winning fireworks company Pains Fireworks has developed the fireworks show, which will feature over 1,500 "shots", and will take over eight days to set up.
A crowd of at least 50,000 is expected to view the show from the banks of the River Shannon.
Festivities will begin at 6pm, with street theatre performances from Arcanna – those distinctive stags on stilts who appear on the pitch at Thomond Park before Munster matches – while the fireworks will begin at 7.30pm, set to a soundtrack curated by 2FM DJ Jenny Greene.
Following the event, the National Lottery draw will take place live in Arthur's Quay Park, with RTE's Nuala Carey on hand to conduct proceedings.
"People will be able to witness the draw as it happens, as well as the preparation that goes into conducting it," explained Mr Griffin.
Ms Carey told the Leader that she hoped the draw would "make some millionaires down this way".
On Sunday, March 14, the International Band Parade will take place in the city, with the St Patrick's Day Parade on the following Wednesday, giving almost a week of festivities that Mayor Kevin Kiely told the Leader could mean "anything up to 150,000 people visiting the city over the three days".
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Limerick
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
