Madrid is about to celebrate a European tradition imported for just two days. The city center will host what is already shaping up to be the largest Irish parade in Spain, the great St. Patrick’s Day parade that will travel along Gran Vía this Saturday, March 14. The street will be transformed into a sea of green, with live Celtic music, bagpipes, drums, banners, and Irish dancers.
The parade will start at 5:00 p.m. from the Metropolis building, at the intersection of Alcalá and Gran Vía, and will proceed to Plaza de España, following the entire axis, which will be transformed into a veritable Celtic corridor for one afternoon. More than 600 bagpipers from some 40 bands and groups from all over Spain will take part in the parade, as well as Irish dance groups, entertainers, sports associations, and groups linked to Atlantic culture, totaling more than 1,200 participants. The procession is promoted by Asturian musician Bras Rodrigo together with the Corvera Bagpipe Band Foundation and has the support of Irish institutions and Madrid City Council.
Concert in Callao and “Green Vía” in the Metro
The parade will not be the only free event of the weekend. At the end of the parade,the Plaza de Callao will host a grand closing concert with Bras Rodrigo and the St. Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band, one of Dublin’s most prestigious pipe bands, which has come especially for the occasion. It will be the grand finale to a full week of activities that began on Tuesday, March 10, with the transformation of the Gran Vía Metro station into the so-called “Green Vía”: a lobby decorated in green, daily performances of Irish music and dance in the style of busking, and the presence of dancers and musicians from University College Dublin (UCD).
At the same time, the Irish Week program offers concerts, dance sessions, cinema, literature, and gastronomy throughout the city: from céilís (Irish social dances) in Callao to Irish film screenings, dramatized readings, literary cafés, and Celtic music nights in venues such as Galileo Galilei and Nazca. The idea is for Madrid to breathe Irish atmosphere for seven days, with events for all audiences, most of which are free of charge until full capacity is reached.