Bloom Festival is Ireland's largest gardening show. It is a large five-day event, held each year in Phoenix Park, Dublin.[2][3] It was first held in 2007, and is organised by Bord Bia (The Irish Food Board).[1][2]

Bloom Festival
Bloom
GenreGardening, horticulture, food[1]
Location(s)Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland
Founded2007
Attendance60,000–110,000
Patron(s)President of Ireland[1]
Websitehttp://bloominthepark.com/

The 2020 event was cancelled owing to the measures taken to address the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.[4]

History

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The first Bloom garden festival was held in June 2007 and opened by then President of Ireland Mary McAleese.[5]

The fourth (2010) festival was opened on 3 June 2010,[6] with around 8,000 people visiting during the opening day.[7][8] Chinese ambassador Liu Biwei and the Earl of Rosse were among notable attendees.[9] Former Chelsea Flower Show judge Andrew Wilson also judged at the event.[10] The 2010 event featured 24 gardens spread across 10 acres (4.0 ha) of Phoenix Park.[6][11] The winner of Super Garden, an RTÉ competition, was among them.[11]

Past events have featured professional gardeners, an artisan food market and culinary displays from several celebrity chefs. Since the event was launched, the show has had an increasing focus on food, with garden designers finding it hard to get sponsorship, and the food board Bord Bia, pushing its food agenda.[citation needed]

The event has historically attracted large volumes of visitors, increasing from 60,000 people as of the 2010 festival,[6][12][13] to approaching 120,000 people by the time of the 2019 event.[14][15] The volume of visitors has led to long queues,[9] and increased levels of traffic in the area.[2] The event organisers have sought to encourage attendees to make use of public transport.[2]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Bord Bia has spectacular success with annual Bloom Festival". irishexaminer.com. Irish Examiner. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Bloom festival to host 60,000 gardening fans". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  3. ^ "Gardening fans flock to Bloom festival come rain, or shine". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 8 June 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  4. ^ 98FM (24 March 2020). "Bord Bia Announces Cancellation Of Bloom 2020". 98fm.com. 98FM. Retrieved 26 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "RTÉ Archives | Environment | First Bloom Festival". rte.ie. RTÉ. 31 May 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "60,000 expected to visit Bloom Festival". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  7. ^ McGreevy, Ronan (3 June 2010). "Weather brings crowds to Bloom". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  8. ^ "Morning business news – June 4". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  9. ^ a b McGreevy, Ronan (4 June 2010). "Garden inspired by winter floods carries all before it". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  10. ^ Sheehan, Aideen (4 June 2010). "Where great ideas for gardens bloom and grow". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  11. ^ a b Mangan, Stephen (5 June 2010). "Bloom festival grows its own success". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  12. ^ McBride, Caitlin (4 June 2010). "Crowds are in Bloom as green fingers hit the park". Evening Herald. Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010.
  13. ^ McHale, Michael (7 June 2010). "Flower power Festival fever grips the nation". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
  14. ^ More by Juliette Gash Multi-Media Journalist (30 May 2019). "President Michael D Higgins opens 13th Bloom festival". rte.ie. RTÉ News. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Bloom Festival Brings In €10M Over June Bank Holiday Weekend". checkout.ie. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020. Over 115,000 people visited the festival [in 2019]
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