We got a press release from Guinness on the upcomming 250 celebrations. Here are more details. I am going to try to track down some information on US celebrations, because though I’ve heard there should be some. I have not seen any details on any. Official or not we will definitely be raising a pint to Arthur on September 24 (which I realised is also my fathers birthday!, he’s not as excited about it as I).
Straight from the horses mouth:
GUINNESS ANNOUNCES FURTHER DETAILS FOR ARTHUR’S DAY GLOBAL CELEBRATIONS
Black Eyed Peas Headline Arthur’s Day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Sean Paul Headlines Arthur’s Day in Lagos, Nigeria
Dublin, Ireland – With just seventeen days to go until the Arthur’s Day celebrations begin in Dublin on the 24th September, GUINNESS is today revealing the latest impressive line-up of artists, A-list presenters and international broadcast partners taking part, as the countdown begins to the global festivities.
Around the world amazing talent will perform at Arthur’s Day events including Sean Paul as headlining act at the live show in Lagos, Nigeria and The Black Eyed Peas performing at celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These remarkable global events will see over 60 artists performing more than 60 hours of live music in just one day in events in cities around the world
Joining previously announced artists Sir Tom Jones, Estelle, Razorlight, Sugababes and Kasabian at the Dublin Arthur’s Day celebrations are Roots Manuva, Paolo Nutini, The Magic Numbers, OK Go and White Belt Yellow Tag, along with some of the best live acts in Ireland today including The High Kings, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, General Fiasco, Spring Break, David Kitt, and Oppenheimer.
Hosting the event in Dublin will be Cat Deeley and Ronan Keating who will take to the stage in the St. James’s Gate Brewery, and will be joined by Colin Murray, Michelle De Swarte and Michelle Doherty who will be presenting live from the four studio venues. The Arthur’s Day celebrations will be beamed across the globe from Ireland, UK, US and Africa via broadcast partners SKY, ITV2 and DirecTV
The Arthur’s Day celebrations, to mark 250 years since Arthur Guinness signed the 9,000 year lease on the St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, will begin in the Irish capital at 17:59 local time with a toast to Arthur and carry on around the world in Lagos, Kuala Lumpur and New York.
In Dublin, 33 events will take place simultaneously, including a major performance at the St James’s Gate Brewery and four studio venues as well 28 intimate gigs at pubs around Dublin hosting local acts and surprise guest artists from the A-list line-up. The full line-up for Dublin studio venues and local acts for pub venues has also been announced today.
New artists announced today are: Born Blonde, Concerto for Constantine, David Kitt, Fiona Melady, Fionn Regan, General Fiasco, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, Leopold, Lumiere, OK Go, Oppenheimer, Paolo Nutini, Roots Manuva, Sean Paul, Sharon Shannon, Spring Break, The Coronas, The High Kings, The Infomatics, The Magic Numbers and White Belt Yellow Tag.
As part of the Arthur’s Day celebrations The Guinness & Co. has pledged to donate €6 million to the Arthur Guinness Fund which will be active from September 2009. Arthur Guinness and his family were responsible for some of the most well known acts of philanthropy in Ireland and to honour and continue this legacy we are establishing this fund with the goal of enabling and empowering individuals with skills and opportunities to deliver a measured benefit to their communities.