Huge St Patrick's Day celebrations will be held in London next year, London Mayor Ken Livingstone promised today.
Mr Livingstone, met Dublin's Lord Mayor Mr Michael Mulcahy in Dublin today to discuss how to make London's March 17th celebrations a success.
Mr Livingstone said the day would give Londoners a taste of Irish culture, with Dublin's Fire Brigade band leading the festivities.
After formally opening Dublin's live animal Nativity crib at the Mansion House, he laid out his plans for the first officially-backed St Patrick's Day in 2002.
"We will get all the various parades which will be happening in different parts of London together," he said.
"Trafalgar Square will be set aside for a whole series of Irish cultural events and we will make it a family day.
"It will not be just for Londoners of Irish descent but for all to come and see what Irish culture offers," he said, explaining that Irish people made up the biggest ethnic minority in London.
Mayor Mulcahy, a former Fianna Fáil senator, promised that the fire brigade band would travel to London to lead the day's events.
The pair also discussed plans for an elected mayor in Dublin, which is proposed for 2004.
PA