London St. Patrick's Festival 2020 (cancelled)

Please note that this event has already occured.

Key information

Date: Sunday 15 March 2020

Time: 12:00pm to 6:00pm

Venue: Trafalgar Square, Westminster, London, WC2N 5DN, GB

Cost: Free

This year's St Patrick's festival has been cancelled as key performers and parade participants are no longer able to take part due to the ongoing threat of coronavirus.

London’s Irish community makes a huge contribution to our great city, and this will be extremely disappointing news for so many Londoners and visitors to our capital.

For regularly updated health information and advice visit the NHS website.

Now in it’s 18th year, the Mayor of London’s St. Patrick’s festival is the largest celebration of Irish culture and community in London. It has been built upon a robust foundation of tradition, inclusivity and diversity and a sincere appreciation for the perspectives of different generations. It is a pinnacle event in London's cultural calendar that showcases the best of Irish arts, performance, culture, food, and music from both Britain and Ireland.

The best of Irish arts, culture, food and music will be available from Friday 13 March to Sunday 15 March as Londoners and visitors join together to celebrate the significant contribution Irish people have made to the city.

Women in sport will be the theme of this year’s festival in support of the Federation of Irish Sports 20x20 campaign to improve coverage of women’s sport. The Grand Marshall for the world-renowned parade on Sunday will be Dublin camogie player Laura Twomey.

The Festival culminates on Sunday 15 March in the annual parade which attracts more than 50,000 people for a colourful procession of Irish marching bands from the UK, US and Ireland, dance troupes and pageantry, including the Garda band from Dublin and the return of the popular Giant St Patrick. It starts at Hyde Park Corner, then travels through Piccadilly, St James’s Street, Pall Mall, Cockspur Street and Whitehall.

At Trafalgar Square there will be a world-class line-up of Irish culture and music, in partnership with the London Irish Centre, compered by Derry Girls actor Siobhan McSweeney. There will be family concerts, storytelling, children’s films and youth performances, as well as community choirs, schools, dance troops and collectives. There will also be performances by Imelda May, KILA and a singalong finale.

Alongside the main stage, there will be food demonstrations from International Chef of the Year 2019, Anna Haugh, a replica Irish cottage, children’s workshops featuring camogie games, medal making and face painting, and a great selection of food and drinks stalls.

Across the capital, there will be a further series of events throughout the weekend, including a takeover of Camden Market, busking on the Underground, free walking tours and a three-day film festival by Irish Film London.

Sponsorship

Interested in being part of the largest gathering celebrating the Mayor of London St. Patrick’s Day in London? Sponsorship opportunities are now open. Benefits include:

Association with a key Mayoral event
On site branding at the iconic Trafalgar Square
Invitation to the official launch event
Face to face engagement with over 75,000 event attendees
Reach and awareness across key GLA social media channels
Platform to create compelling brand experiences

Please email [email protected] for a sponsor pack.

Irish Film London

Time: Various

Location: Regent St Cinema, 307 Regent St, London W1B 2HW

Cost: Various

Details: Irish Film London once again delivers Ireland's most recent feature and short film releases to the big screen in London's Regent Street Cinema. From Friday 13 - Sunday 15 March, there will be something for everyone - drama, documentary, comedy, discussion and professional networking in this cinematic celebration of Ireland. There will also be a free children's craft workshop.

Booking Details: https://www.irishfilmfestivallondon.com/festival-programme

Camden Market St Patrick's Day Takeover

Time: 12pm - 7pm

Location: Camden Market Wide

Cost: Free

Details: As part of the official London St Patrick’s Day Festival, for the 4th year running Camden Market will play host to a live, free, Irish music trail fuelled by quirky and delicious St Patrick’s street food and drink specials. The trail will showcase some of Ireland’s finest emerging talent, who will perform intimate gigs at various venues and locations across the Market. The Market will also be hosting an Irish-themed pop up bar throughout the entire weekend, screening the final Six Nations rugby matches and open until late.

Booking details: No booking required

Busking on the Underground

Location: Westminster, Southwark and Tottenham Court Road Tube Stations

Cost: Free

Booking details: No booking required

Free Walking Tours - Where the String Broke

Time: 10:30am

Location: Starts at Camden Town tube station (Kentish Town Road Exit)

Cost: Free

Details: If you were: getting the start, going to the dance, looking for a doss, drinking in the pub or just having the craic, then Camden Town was your only man. Explore the Irish links with ballrooms, pubs, churches, hostels and the characters that made this amazing part of London Ireland's Own for so many years. Lumpers, singers, writers and navvies will all feature this vibrant and important story.

Booking details: Walks are free but booking is required - please email [email protected] to book.

Free Walking Tours - Conquering England

Time: 2pm

Details: Three of Ireland's greatest writers all came to the same place at the same time to make their names. - London. A tale of three brilliant immigrants and their lives and careers in the metropolis . Visit where W.B. Yeats lived for 23 years. Discover a "brown paper parcel" in the reading room of the British Museum and note a distinguished Irish gentleman occupying a cell in a London Police Station. Saunter through Bloomsbury, Covent Garden and Soho and hear tales of these remarkable Irishmen in the city that helped to make them but which each in turn conquered and made their own.

Location: Starts at the War Memorial outside of Euston Station

Cost: Free

Booking details: Walks are free but booking is required - please email [email protected] to book.

Irish Film London

Time: Various

Location: Regent St Cinema, 307 Regent St, London W1B 2HW

Cost: Various

Details: Irish Film London once again delivers Ireland's most recent feature and short film releases to the big screen in London's Regent Street Cinema. From Friday 13th - Sunday 15th March, there will be something for everyone - drama, documentary, comedy, discussion and professional networking in this cinematic celebration of Ireland. There will also be a free children's craft workshop.

Booking Details: https://www.irishfilmfestivallondon.com/festival-programme

Free Walking Tours - Where the String Broke

Time: 10:30am

Location: Starts at Camden Town tube station (Kentish Town Road Exit)

Cost: Free

Details:

If you were: getting the start, going to the dance, looking for a doss, drinking in the pub or just having the craic, then Camden Town was your only man. Explore the Irish links with ballrooms, pubs, churches, hostels and the characters that made this amazing part of London Ireland's Own for so many years. Lumpers, singers, writers and navvies will all feature this vibrant and important story.

Booking details: Walks are free but booking is required - please email tonymcdonnellbbg@hotmail.com to book.

Free Walking Tours - Conquering England

Time: 2pm

Details: Three of Ireland's greatest writers all came to the same place at the same time to make their names. - London. A tale of three brilliant immigrants and their lives and careers in the metropolis . Visit where W.B. Yeats lived for 23 years. Discover a "brown paper parcel" in the reading room of the British Museum and note a distinguished Irish gentleman occupying a cell in a London Police Station. Saunter through Bloomsbury, Covent Garden and Soho and hear tales of these remarkable Irishmen in the city that helped to make them but which each in turn conquered and made their own.

Location: Starts at the War Memorial outside of Euston Station

Cost: Free

Booking details: Walks are free but booking is required - please email [email protected] to book.

Irish Film London

Time: Various

Location: Regent St Cinema, 307 Regent St, London W1B 2HW

Cost: Various

Booking Details: https://www.irishfilmfestivallondon.com/festival-programme

Fhéile Naomh Pádraig (Festival of St. Patrick)

Organisation: Council of Irish County Associations

Time: 1:30-6pm

Cost: £15

Location: McNamara Hall, The London Irish Centre, 50/52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB

Details: St Patrick's Celebration Cabaret and Dance with Lunch

Booking Details: http://cicalondon.org/

AVA London

Time: 11am - 11pm

Location: Printworks London

Cost: £32.50

Details: Following Friday’s conference, on Saturday 14 March AVA Festival will programme another top-notch club event in the Press Halls, with scene-defining headliners and up-and-coming talent. This year, they welcome iconic duo Orbital for their Printworks London debut alongside Joy Orbison, Ross From Friends, Overmono, Jennifer Cardini, Peach & many more.

Booking details: https://kaboodle.co.uk/event/ava-london-club