Sydney turns green on Sunday 17th March for the 2013 Sydney St Patrick’s Day Parade & Family Day

In Australia, St Patrick’s Day celebrations have taken place on 17 March since 1810, when the then Governor, Lachlan Macquarie, declared the date an official day of celebration for the Irish and those of Irish heritage.  200 years later, we are still celebrating with an annual street parade and family day on the third Sunday of March – next year on Sunday 17th March 2013.The Sydney St Patrick’s Day Parade is the second largest in the world, after the New York celebrations.

The Parade commences with pre-parade entertainment in front of Town Hall on George St from 10.30am to midday, to keep early crowds entertained. Band Cool Finn Mac will be playing traditional Irish music whilst a troupe of Irish dancers will keep the energy up.  

The parade will consist of floats, marching bands and walking groups, starting at the corner of Town Hall on George Street and Bathurst Street continuing to Park St and around Elizabeth St, ending at Hyde Park near St James Station.

Our very own ‘St Patrick’ leads the Parade through the streets of Sydney. The title of ‘St Patrick’ has, over the years become a much-coveted role, each year members of the Irish Community in Sydney nominate a suitable representative to fulfil the role. 

Floats and marching groups participating this year include County floats, Irish sports organisation floats, cultural organizations and Irish dancing school displays as well as a host of musical entertainment. 

The Sydney St Patrick’s Day Parade & Family Day has a broad range of activities for the young and the young at heart.  Irish festivities take over the surroundings of Sydney’s Hyde Park for a day, where spectators can enjoy a range of traditional and modern Irish music performed from the main stage. 

The fun continues at the Family Day in Hyde Park, from 1.00pm. 

There will be a designated children’s area in Hyde Park, where families with young children can relax. Children can also enjoy face painting, bouncy castles, clowns, animal rides and music performances.

2013  will also see Australian residents become Australian citizens in the annual citizenship ceremony held at Hyde Park. Many Irish people choose to take part in the citizenship ceremony at the Sydney St Patrick’s Day Parade & Family Day as a way of recognising that although they are becoming Australian citizens; their Irish background will always be close to their hearts. The Citizenship Ceremony commences at 2pm and at 3pm, the Citizenship ceremony ends and the area is turned into a Small Stage with more traditional and modern music and singing.

For more information please contact:

Caroline Ashmore

Marketing Manager

Sydney St Patrick’s Day Parade and Family Day

Email: media@stpatricksday.org.au

Tel: 0433 923 464

About Sydney St Patrick’s Day Parade and Family Day Org

The Sydney St Patrick’s Day Parade is organised by a group of volunteers from the Irish-Australian community. As a non-profit organisation, financial support is key to the continuing success of the Sydney St Patrick’s Day celebrations through fundraising throughout the year and the ever-popular Irish Bachelor of the Year event.