New Year’s Eve festival to provide high profile ending to the Gathering as top media arrive

New Year’s Eve festival to provide high profile ending to the Gathering as top media arrive
Irish jockey Davy Russell and Paul Townsend launch the #ChristmasFestival Gathering at Leopardstown

International media are flocking to Dublin where NYE 2013 is set to become the ultimate Gathering for 2013 as iconic ska band Madness headline what promises to be the biggest New Year’s event to hit Ireland. Hot new Irish act from Cavan, The Strypes and YouTube darlings Seo Linn will also join MKS (Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan – the founding members of Sugababes) with Ryan Sheridan on stage at the Countdown Concert, in the heart of the city centre on 31st December.

This year’s NYE Festival will be the official closing event for The Gathering Ireland 2013 and has been extended to four days, opening on 29th December with the Gathering at Leopardstown and featuring a Love Dublin day as well as festival favourites The Procession of Light and Countdown Concert on the 31st December, followed by a Big Brunch on 1st January.

Importantly, for New Year’s Eve, 40 top visiting journalists and bloggers from key markets such as the USA, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Nordics, India and Australia will be arriving to cover the event. These journalists write for leading newspapers and magazines which include the Sydney Morning Herald and Belgian newspaper De Zondag –  with a combined readership of 2 million.

The Gathering has been a favourite with international media throughout the year with over 1400 journalists visiting Ireland to cover the event.  In addition a further 15 group press trips were arranged hosting over 130 media with each individual itinerary featuring a Gathering event.  The Gathering Ireland message was also included in media e-zines and media outreach activities to a database of over 22,000 international media and news agencies.

John Concannon, Director of Marketing with Fáilte Ireland said:

“We opened an exciting year of gatherings with NYE Dublin and we are delighted to close this wonderful year of Gathering celebrations with ‘3 NYE Dublin’ – the Ultimate Gathering. We are working with our tourism partners to enhance this year’s festival for overseas visitors. We look forward to a bigger and better festival than ever and one which will secure Dublin’s position as a top global destination for New Year’s.”

“We are pulling out all the stops to ensure that the journalists who join us get the full picture and a good pitch. Attractive itineraries for the media have been put together to give a full taste of what Ireland has to offer not just on New Year’s Eve but at any time of the year.  Fáilte Ireland is working closely on the ground with visiting media to make sure that they are fully immersed in the wonderful colour and sounds of the festival, which will be beamed live by RTE."

Last year’s NYE event saw crowds of over 50,000 on the streets of Dublin and contributed to Dublin’s nomination as one of the Lonely Planet’s Top 5 New Year’s Eve Destinations in the world.  The festival was established in 2011 to drive tourism to Dublin during the New Year’s period and is a joint initiative by Fáilte Ireland and Dublin City Council, produced and promoted by Davis Events.

For further information and to buy your tickets visit www.visitdublin.com/NYE

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Louise Tolerton - 086 6086578
OR
Catherine Whelan – 087 6449572
Fáilte Ireland Communications Department

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