New opportunities for commercial sponsorship of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin are expected after this year's "most spectacular ever" event, according to the Minister for Tourism and Trade, Mr Kenny.
The parade, which has been completely revamped by a steering committee, chaired by Mr Michael Colgan, the Gate Theatre director, is costing £500,000 half of it allocated by the Minister and the rest coming from tourism and other interests.
Apart from a "more upbeat, vibrant and modern" parade, this year's event will include a night time street spectacle in College Green featuring Els Comediants, who performed at the 1992 Olympics.
