Spectator numbers are not the only way to measure the size of a St Patrick’s Day parade. Some cities distinguish themselves through the extraordinary number of marchers, musicians, dancers and community organisations that take part.
New York again ranks first. Its approximately 150,000 participants make it vastly larger than any other St Patrick’s Day procession.
Largest St Patrick’s Day parades by participants
Why is New York’s parade so large?
New York’s event is a mass procession rather than a conventional float parade. Irish county associations, pipe bands, schools, police officers, firefighters, military units and cultural organisations march up Fifth Avenue. The complete procession can last five or six hours.
Holyoke, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Savannah form the next group. Their figures can vary considerably because organisers sometimes count everyone registered with a participating organisation, rather than only those who ultimately march. Even allowing for that uncertainty, all four stage exceptionally large processions.
Scranton is perhaps the most impressive relative to its size. The Pennsylvania city has a population of roughly 75,000 but can place around 12,000 people in its parade. Syracuse also performs strongly, with approximately 6,000 participants.
Dublin’s parade is relatively modest in numerical terms. Its approximately 4,000 participants are organised into specially designed performances, pageants and marching bands. The emphasis is on visual production rather than assembling the largest possible procession.
Participant totals are even less precise than spectator estimates. Organisers frequently report numbers of groups, bands, floats or parade units without stating how many individuals they contain. The figures above should therefore be understood as reasonable headline estimates rather than exact annual totals.