LAS VEGAS, March 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of St. Patrick's Day, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) in partnership with Tourism Ireland have created a very special Irish welcome by turning the famous 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' sign green in honor of St. Patrick's weekend by replacing the normal yellow bulbs with green. As the world gears up for St. Patrick's Day, the famous Betty Willis designed 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' sign turned green last night, kicking off this weekend's celebrations and Tourism Ireland's 'Global Greening' 2014 initiative.
Irish celebrity and host of Midday, Sybil Mulcahy, flew to Las Vegas to oversee the turning on of the green lights and to get the Vegas party started. Sybil received a great welcome in Las Vegas where she was joined by Clark County Commissioner Mary Beth Scow, Terry Murphy, honorary consul of Ireland for Nevada, Caroline Coyle, vice president of brand strategy for the LVCVA, Irish singer Brendan Bowyer, Las Vegas showgirls, members of the Celtic Crown Dance Academy and employees of Ri Ra Irish Pub.
"We are pleased to partner once again with our friends at Tourism Ireland on their 'Global Greening' initiative," said Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing for the LVCVA. "Celebrating St. Patrick's Day is a longstanding American tradition, and there's no better place to celebrate than in Las Vegas."
Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, added, "We are absolutely delighted that the famous 'Welcome' sign in Las Vegas is joining our St. Patrick's celebrations this year. St. Patrick's Day traditionally marks the real start of the tourism season for us. Our message is that there has never been a better time to 'Jump In' and plan a visit to Ireland."
Las Vegas is in great company this St. Patrick's Day as many landmarks and iconic sites around the world are going green in honor of St. Patrick. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Niagara Falls, the Sydney Opera House, the London Eye and the Pyramids of Giza are amongst the landmarks and iconic sites all going green. The Las Vegas Welcome sign will stay green until March 18 in honor of all things Irish.
The 'Global Greening' is a Tourism Ireland initiative which puts huge focus on Ireland around St. Patrick's Day. It gives people worldwide the opportunity to connect with Ireland or reconnect with their Irish past.
ABOUT THE LVCVA
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is charged with marketing Southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide, and also with operating the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center. With more than 150,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas alone and 10.8 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space citywide, the LVCVA's mission centers on attracting ever-'increasing numbers of leisure and business visitors to the area. For more information, go to www.lvcva.com.
Contact: Jenelle Jacks
jjacks@lvcva.com
(702) 892-2847
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140314/LA84024
SOURCE Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA)
