In pics: World goes green for St Patrick's Day

HUNDREDS of landmarks in 48 countries around the world are going green as part of a Tourism Ireland initiative.

The 2018 Global Greening event is being staged to celebrate the island of Ireland and St Patrick.

The London Eye joined in the St Patrick's Day fun (John Nguyen/PA) — The London Eye joined in the St Patrick’s Day fun (John Nguyen/PA)

Hope the whale at the Natural History Museum in London was also illuminated (David Parry/PA)

Irish dancers perform on London's Millennium Bridge (Tim Ireland/PA) — Irish dancers perform on London’s Millennium Bridge (Tim Ireland/PA)

From Rome to Rio and from London to Las Vegas, a host of buildings and sites around the world are turning a shade of green to celebrate the country’s national day.

New sites taking part in 2018 include Tower 42 – the third-tallest skyscraper in the City of London, a giant blue whale skeleton at the Natural History Museum and The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas.

They are joined by some old favourites which have gone green in previous years.

These include the Sydney Opera House, the London Eye, the Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Great Wall of China, Niagara Falls and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

The SEC Armadillo and SSE Hydro are illuminated green in Glasgow by Tourism Ireland to mark St Patrick's Day (Sandy Young/PA) — The SEC Armadillo and SSE Hydro are illuminated green in Glasgow by Tourism Ireland to mark St Patrick’s Day (Sandy Young/PA)

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge was also given a green makeover (Scott Heppell/PA)

The Busan Cinema Centre, which is the official venue of the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, marked the occasion (Tourism Ireland/PA)

Not to be outdone, City Hall in Seoul, South Korea, also went green (Tourism Ireland/PA)

El Angel de la Independencia in Mexico City (Tourism Ireland/PA)

Abuja City Gate in Nigeria (Tourism Ireland/PA)

The Burj al Arab hotel, Dubai (Tourism Ireland/PA)

The Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club (Tourism Ireland/PA)

The Emirates Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth (Tourism Ireland/PA)

The lighthouse on the frozen lake Nasijarvi in Finland (Tourism Ireland/PA)

Also in Finland, the Oulu Theatre and Harbour ice rink changed colour (Tourism Ireland/PA)

The annual Global Greening initiative has gone from strength to strength – from its beginnings in 2010, with just the Sydney Opera House and the Sky Tower in Auckland going green, to this year, with around 290 sites taking part.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “This is the ninth year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative and it’s bigger and better than ever this year.”

He added: “St Patrick’s Day traditionally marks the real start of the tourism season for us; our aim is to bring a smile to the faces of people around the world and to convey the message that Ireland offers the warmest of welcomes and great fun, as well as wonderful scenery and heritage.”