Dublin City held a spectacular party this New Year‘s Eve to herald the beginning of a full year of celebrations for The Gathering 2013. This came as the Lonely Planet Guide recently named Dublin as one of the top 5 places in the world to celebrate New Year’s Eve 2013, alongside Prague, the French Alps and Chiang Mai in Thailand. All the stops were pulled out to ensure  The Gathering 2013 kicked off in memorable style.

The  streets  of Dublin were transformed into a massive carnival style spectacle, complete with sound systems, street performers, musicians and dancers. A very special aspect to the New Year celebrations this year was that thousands of visitors, young and old, from home and abroad, led a ‘Peoples Processions of Light’ from College Green. This made for a unique sight as the colourful procession weaved its way through the center of Dublin while participants carried torches, LED lights and lanterns.

The procession continued to Saint Stephen’s Green where a huge firework display took place, the likes of which has never been seen in Dublin before. The night sky was ablaze with exploding colours as batteries of fireworks were launched to crackle and fizz over Georgian Dublin. Musicians and street entertainers kept a lively festive atmosphere on St Stephen’s Green, which was a free public event.

The Gathering 2013 is a year long celebration taking place throughout every city, town, village and neighbourhood in Ireland. Communities are ready to welcome guests with an extravaganza of top notch food, first class accommodation, brilliant music and not to be missed entertainment. Visitors will encounter Ireland’s history, heritage and culture at first hand, enjoy a fabulous carnival atmosphere, meet lots of new and interesting people and leave Ireland with treasured memories and a promise of a return visit!