St Patrick’s Day London 2008

London’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations take place this Sunday 16 March with a range of events taking place at central London locations including Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Covent Garden.

A main part of the day is the St Patrick’s Day Parade featuring marching bands, floats, costume characters, stilt walkers and street theatre, along with members of the public who sign up on the parade website to march behind one of 32 giant Irish county flags. The parade starts at Hyde Park Corner then makes its way along Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus, down Regent Street, past Trafalgar Square and into Whitehall.

Trafalgar Square has the main performance stage with traditional and contemporary Irish music and dance. Performances run from 11.30am-5.45pm. Leicester Square holds an Irish Cultural Village showcasing Irish music, song, dance and crafts as well as a children’s area. Events here go from 12noon-5pm, while in Covent Garden you can find the Irish Food Market with speciality Irish food and drink. It should be a lively day on Sunday, the only downer being that its predicted to rain.