Bloomsday around the world 2025
Explore events happening across the globe
Athens
Refugee Week Greece is a week-long vibrant cultural festival running from 16 - 22 June.
This year Embassy Athens is taking part as part of their Bloomsday celebrations. The week is about celebrating the contribution, creativity and authenticity of people having experienced forced migration while promoting equality and diversity.
The Embassy Athens team is hosting activities for children, Irish book giveaways, library readings, and an Irish dancing workshop. The event takes place in KAPAPS Park for Children and Culture on World Refugee Day, 20 June from 6-9pm.
For more information on the event and Refugee Week Greece, please visit: www.refugeeweek.gr
Bangkok
𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 & 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱: 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
This year, Embassy Bangkok is bringing the Bloomsday spirit with a special event that celebrates the many voices of Irish authors from different eras. Whether you are a literature fan or would like to discover something new, this is your chance to explore the evolution of Irish storytelling. From the wit of Oscar Wilde and the poetry of W.B. Yeats to the modern perspective of Sally Rooney, Irish literature has inspired readers for generations.
The event will be held on Saturday, 14 June 2025 in Kinokuniya Book Stores, centralwOrld.
Find out more on our Embassy News page>>
Berlin
Bloomsday celebrations in Berlin will be held this year at the Berlinische Galerie, a museum of modern art, photography and architecture.
Two more special events converge to create a unique occasion – Monday, 16 June marks the closing night of Irish artist Mariechen Danz’s ‘edge out’ exhibition at the Berlinische Galerie, the very last exhibition as part of Zeitgeist Irland 24. Additionally, the Zeitgeist Irland 24 commemorative book, a an initiative of Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Germany, will be launched.
Bloomsday 2025 in Berlin marks a special merging of the celebration of a new generation of Irish artists, as well as one of Ireland’s literary greats, James Joyce, and his novel Ulysses. To mark the occasion, there will be Bloomsday readings and music by Audrey Magee, Dean Power, Mary Kelly and A.S. Fanning, and a final opportunity to see Mariechen Danz’s ‘edge out’ exhibition, as well as Bloomsday themed canapés and Burgundy wine.
Copenhagen
Embassy Copenhagen hosted a Bloomsday & Beyond event on 4 June in collaboration with the 2025 Copenhagen Jewish Festival.
In her opening remarks, Ambassador McCullough spoke about how Bloomsday is celebrated in Dublin every year on 16 June, with people re-tracing Leopold Bloom’s steps from the Martello Tower in Sandycove, to Davy Byrne’s Pub, and onto Sweney’s Chemist for a bar of lemon soap.
Irish writer Simon Lewis read from his award-winning collection of poems, which evoke beautifully the story of 18th century Jewish migration from Lithuania to Ireland. Simon spoke about the community in Cork, and how it helped to shape Irish-Jewish identity and culture through the years - including in the form of personalities, real and fictional.
Simon’s engaging presentation was followed by a lively interactive session, where questions covered history, migration, politics, culture, identity - and of course Ulysses and Leopold Bloom.
Dublin
The James Joyce Centre will celebrate the Bloomsday Festival from 11-16 June.
Start the day itself, with the famous Bloomsday Breakfast at Belvedere College on Monday, 16 June. Anyone hungry in the afternoon can stop by Davy Byrne’s pub (frequented by Leopold Bloom himself) for their famous gorgonzola sandwiches and a glass of burgundy.
A variety of recreations and readings will be held all over, including Bloomsday Readings and Songs in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar. Walking tours are held throughout the day following the routes of much loved characters. The James Joyce Centre conducts two tours, Introducing Joyce’s Dublin and Footsteps of Leopold Bloom.
There are theatrical adaptions of scenes from Ulysses at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dalkey Castle and the James Joyce Centre, as well as community events around Dublin. View the full Bloomsday Festival programme.
New Delhi
This year for Bloomsday celebrations in India, Embassy New Delhi is partnering with Kaivalya Plays to present ‘The Year of Joyce’.
This three-phase cultural journey begins with live dramatised readings from Dubliners, performed on 15 June at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, as well as the launch of an immersive, multi-sensory installation based on ‘Dubliners’, incorporating sound, light, and projection mapping to reinterpret Joyce’s work in a contemporary Indian context.
The celebration concludes with a full-length theatre production of ‘Translations’ by acclaimed Irish playwright Brian Friel, to be staged in New Delhi and Nagaland. ‘The Year of Joyce’ will also include book giveaways, interactive quizzes, on-ground events, and social media contests.
As a special highlight, renowned blogger, author and journalist Mayank Austen Soofi – writer of the beloved ‘Delhiwale’ column in the Hindustan Times- is travelling to attend the Bloomsday celebrations in Dublin in collaboration with the James Joyce Centre. Mayank’s column will be retitled as ‘Dublinwale’ for five days, offering millions of readers a uniquely immersive window into Joyce’s Dublin. Read Mayank’s dispatches.
New York
Consulate General New York’s Bloomsday celebrations kicked off on 6 June.
First Friday networking event, on 6 June, was in honour of the 50th anniversary of Arlen House, a publisher specialising in Irish literature.
The evening’s panel consisted of four writers featured in Arlen House’s ‘Washing Windows V’ Poetry anthology: Sarah Berkley, Fiona Bolger, Connie Roberts and Drucilla Wall.
The Consulate is also partnering with bookshops in six states to provide generous discounts on contemporary Irish literature, as well as giveaways of books by James Joyce.
Check out the full series of events in the New York region, feature readings and music.
Paris
The Embassy of Ireland, Paris, has planned a weekend of events to celebrate Bloomsday and Beyond.
The Joyce in Paris Colloquium kicks off on Saturday, 14 June with over fifty international academics, along with students from the Sorbonne Nouvelle, Northeastern University and Boston College, gathering for keynotes, talks, roundtables and performances at the Embassy, Irish Cultural Centre and significant sites of Joyce’s life in the city.
On the eve of Bloomsday, the Embassy hosts a concert performance of Lucia Joyce, a new chamber opera composed by Patrick Zimmerli, featuring Irish soprano Megan O’Neill in the titular role alongside French bass-baritone Laurent Naouri playing her father James, and Eléonore Gagey playing her mother Nora. Irish saxophonist Nick Roth accompanies the concert alongside Philip Richardson on piano.
Finally, on Bloomsday, the Embassy hosts a Joyce-themed breakfast to launch and interactive olfactory exploration of Joyce’s novel created by Irish master perfumer Meabh McCurtin who works for the renowned French company ‘International Flavors and Fragrances’. Created in collaboration with Joycean scholar Christine O’Neill and actor Clara Simpson, six original “scentscapes” interpret the themes of Ulysses, translating prose into perfume, to open a fresh sensory gateway into Joyce’s masterpiece. The event also features a concert of Joycean songs by Irish singer Liv Monaghan.
San Francisco
To celebrate Bloomsday & Beyond, Consulate General San Francisco is taking Irish literature to the streets with a playful citywide book drop.
Irish books, both modern and classic, will be left in unexpected spots, from a locked and roving free library to the city’s iconic cable cars in partnership with MUNI. Commuters might find a novel on their morning ride or stumble across a book box revealed through social media clues. Other books will be provided to local literacy centres.
A message on each book invites readers to share their discovery online using #Bloomsday&Beyond, with a prize for the most creative social media post.
This is a celebration of Irish storytelling that wanders through the city just as Leopold Bloom wandered through Dublin. The joy of finding a good book, a literary adventure.
Santiago
Embassy Santiago is celebrating Bloomsday through the "Irlanda Se Lee" campaign, in collaboration with Bibliometro, a public library network in Santiago's metro stations.
This initiative aims to bring Irish literature to daily commuters by distributing 47 Irish books in Spanish, including works by authors such as Sally Rooney, Colm Tóibín, and James Joyce. Each book carries a note and a bookmark: "This book is a gift from Ireland.
Inspired by Leopold Bloom's journey across Dublin, the campaign invites Santiago residents to experience Irish literature during their daily commute.
The initiative will be launched on Bloomsday, Monday, 16 June, at 12 PM at the Bibliometro distribution point in Baquedano Station, with short remarks and live dance performances. This event offers an opportunity to immerse oneself in Irish literature and culture in the heart of Santiago.
Shanghai
This year’s Bloomsday celebrations, the Irish Consulate in Shanghai will launch ‘Bloomsday and Beyond: Dublin to the Yangtze Delta.’
In partnership with Chinese authors, academics, publishers, and a trio of iconic local bookshops, the Consulate will host a series of events to celebrate Irish literature across Shanghai, Nanjing, and Suzhou from 13 to 20 June.
Throughout the week of Bloomsday, these literary events taking place in person and live-streamed on Chinese social media, will explore and celebrate the world of Irish literature through an academic symposium, public readings, and literary discussions. These activities will celebrate not only the works of Joyce, but also a range of classic and contemporary Irish authors whose writings have shaped and been shaped by the island of Ireland.
Additionally, in partnership with the Consulate for the week of Bloomsday, three bookshops will play host to dedicated Irish literature shelves along with a ‘Blind Date with Irish Books’ experience. This involves giving away Irish books to readers throughout the Bloomsday period, and bringing Irish writers to Chinese audiences like never before.
>> Visit Bloomsday and Beyond 2025