Next month's Dublin St Patrick's Day parade will for the first time start on the northside of the city, in a reversal of its traditional route.
The three kilometer long parade will start on Parnell Street North and run through the city finishing up at St Patrick's Cathedral in the Liberties.
This year is the tenth anniversary of the St Patrick's Festival which will run from March 16th to 20th and is expected to attract over one million people into the city centre, including 250,000 overseas visitors.
Newly appointed festival chief executive, Mr Donal Shiels, explained that the reversal of the route was to facilitate TV coverage.
"The sunlight will hit the participants rather than shine into the cameras, so they will be able to get much better shots of the city and the parade," said Mr Shiels.
In addition to the parade the festival programme includes theatre, music, visual arts, comedy, dance, family events and Europe's largest annual fireworks display.
A special publication called "10" will also be distributed featuring guest writers including Maeve Binchy, Myles Dungan and Irish Timescolumnist Roisín Ingle describing their favourite places around Dublin.
The festival will also feature the World premiere of The Cambria, Donal O'Kelly's play about the first asylum-seeker to Ireland, a visual arts programme entitled Allianz Irish Visionsthat includes works from the Irish Museum of Modern Art and City Arts Centre, as well as staples of the event such as the Ceili Mor, Skyfest fireworks display and a cultural symposium.
The St Patrick's Festival has an annual turnover of €2.5 million, of which €1.15 million is provided as an annual grant from Failte Ireland and the remainder made up from commercial sponsorships.