| Arthur's Day | |
|---|---|
 To Arthur! | |
| Dates | 24 September 2009 23 September 2010 22 September 2011 27 September 2012 26 September 2013 |
| Location(s) | Dublin, Ireland Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Lagos, Nigeria New York, United States Yaoundé, Cameroon |
| Years active | 5 |
| Website | http://www.guinness.com/en-ie/arthursday/ |
Arthur's Day was an annual series of music events worldwide, originally organised by Diageo in 2009 to promote the 250th anniversary of its Guinness brewing company. It was named after the founder of Guinness brewing, Arthur Guinness.
The 2009 events took place, internationally, in the cities of Dublin, Kuala Lumpur, Lagos, New York and Yaoundé on 23 September 2009. The event was broadcast internationally on Sky TV, ITV2 and DirecTV.[1] €6 million was pledged to the Arthur Guinness Fund at the time.[1] The festival was endorsed by several high-profile names, such as rock star-turned political activist Bob Geldof, director and screenwriter Guy Ritchie, footballer and Guinness football ambassador for Africa Michael Essien and British celebrities such as Peter Crouch and Sophie Dahl.[2]
Notable high-profile names who later spoke out against Arthur's Day include: director Lenny Abrahamson, singer-songwriter Christy Moore, and musician Mike Scott of The Waterboys. The event was also dubbed "Diageo Day" by The Huffington Post to promote a boycott of the event.[3] The Royal College of Physicians Ireland highlighted a 30% increase in ambulance call-outs on each successive Arthur's Day and a doubling in alcohol-related liver disease over the previous decade, associated with drink promotion and the relative cheapness of alcohol.[4]
Guinness drinkers were asked by the brewing company to raise a glass to the memory of Arthur Guinness at 17:59 (5:59 pm), a reference to 1759, the year the Guinness Brewery was established.[5][6] An 82c stamp of an Arthur Guinness portrait was also released by An Post to commemorate the anniversary.[7]
The last Arthur's Day was held in 2013 with Guinness cancelling the event in 2014. A new music programme to help emerging artists in Ireland called Guinness Amplify was launched to replace the event[8][9]
- ^ a b Mark Coughlan (8 September 2009). "GUINNESS Announces Further Details for Arthur's Day Global Celebrations". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
- ^ "Celebrated by celebrities—People around the world are raising their glasses to wish Guinness a happy 250th birthday on Arthur's Day". The Sun (Malaysia). 18 August 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Rory Fitzgerald (26 September 2012). "Boycott Guinness on Arthur's Day – or Should That Be "Diageo Day"?". HuffPost. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ Roddy L'Estrange (12 August 2009). "Beaumont pint would make Arthur turn in his grave". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
There were ads on, one of which he'd seen before. It was for "Arthur's Day" to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the 9,000-year lease at the St James' Gate Brewery by Arthur Guinness. The day picked out by the Guinness marketing people was Thursday 24 September when, at precisely 17:59, the intention was for Guinness drinkers everywhere to raise a glass of the black stuff and toast the memory of the great man.
- ^ "Growing up in the shadow of Arthur G". Evening Herald. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- ^ Mark Coughlan (28 August 2009). "Stamp of approval for Arthur Guinness". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
The 82c stamp, featuring an 18th-century portrait of Arthur Guinness by an unknown artist, covers airmail letter postage to any part of the world. [...] "It's a fitting tribute from An Post to dedicate a stamp to mark our 250th anniversary."
- ^ "Guinness cancels Arthur's Day after five years". RTÉ News. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ "Arthur's Day axed: Guinness confirms celebration will not be returning". Daily Edge. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.