For the second year, Nicosia’s town hall was lit up green on Tuesday evening as part of the global celebrations to mark St Patrick’s Day, Ireland’s national day on March 17.

The event is part of a growing trend for global monuments to be ‘greened up’ for the annual celebrations. Nicosia’s lighting ceremony was attended by Irish Ambassador Nicholas Twist and Nicosia Deputy Mayor Eleni Loucaidou.

At the ceremony, Twist said he was delighted that Nicosia had joined the global greening and thanked the municipality for its support and for being part of the global event.

“In recent years, to celebrate this linkage, landmarks and monuments throughout the world have been floodlit in Green. From the Eiffel Tower to the Colosseum, from the Pyramids to The Great Wall of China, from the Empire State Building New York to the Sydney Opera House – the whole world is “Greened” and Irish for a while,” he said.

“I encourage everyone to visit Ireland, sample the famous Irish welcome and experience our 40 Shades of Green, to spiti mou.”

The town hall will remain green for three nights, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.