MONUMENTS ACROSS Ireland will light up today to mark International Hugging Day.
With the pandemic still raging across Ireland, giving people hugs is, tragically, not encouraged at the moment.
But with today being National Hugging Day, the occasion will still be marked-- in an utterly unique way.
Last November, six-year-old Adam King captured the hearts of the nation when he appeared on the Late Late Toy Show, complete with a hand-made 'virtual hug' which he offered to the people of Ireland.
This gesture has previously been memorialised in a special stamp on Irish post in the run-up to Christmas, and will now feature across Ireland again, as monuments across the country will light up in its likeness.
The BUMBLEance, Ireland's National Children's Ambulance Service, today revealed that Adam's virtual hug will be projected on Dublin's Samuel Beckett Bridge as a way to lift spirits when people cannot comfort each other in person.
Today is #NationalHuggingDay our #KingBee Adventures WAD Adam's virtual hug will be projected on the Samuel Beckett...
Posted by BUMBLEance Children's National Ambulance Service on Thursday, 21 January 2021
The sign will also be displayed in locations in Dublin, Cork and Waterford city centres after sunset tonight, to help light up the darkness at a time when people are struggling with the pandemic and their own mental health.
❤️ Locations featuring Adam King’s “virtual hugs” this evening
❤️ Dublin - Samuel Beckett Bridge, Mansion House, GPO
❤️ Cork - City Hall, County Hall, Dalys Bridge & the Grand Parade Fountain
❤️ Waterford - City Hall#NationalHuggingDay #AdamsVirtualHug pic.twitter.com/xAj4OZdAKn— Philip Bromwell (@philipbromwell) January 21, 2021
In a post on social media, the creator of the now-iconic virtual hug sign, Adam King, said:
"Because we can't hug each other, I am sending a virtual hug to all of you.
"So keep an eye out, as you might catch one!"
See More: Adam King, National Hugging Day, Virtual Hug
