A 20ft French lion, an enormous glacier and a group of Slovenians dressed as sheep will be along the performers marching through the streets of Dublin today in the St Patrick's Day parade.
The parade will be "a glorious, colourful spectacle with pageantry, music, pomp and ceremony," according to Ms Maria Moynihan, the St Patrick's Festival chief executive.
"We think it will be one of the best-ever parades," she said.
"Families are going to have a ball, and we have plenty of pre-parade entertainment lined up so we are encouraging people to get there early and get a spot."
The Grand Marshal, Miss World Rosanna Davison, will lead the parade, which will start at noon from St Patrick's Cathedral. Pre-parade entertainment will get under way at about 10 30 a.m.
The theme of this year's parade is "Glorious", which refers to "the colours, the stories, the music, the costumes and hopefully the weather," according to Ms Moynihan.
The weather will also play its part, according to Mr Pat Clarke from Met Éireann.
"Considering the unsettled weather we have had in recent days, it will be fairly reasonable around the country," he said.
"It will be fairly dry and bright with temperatures in the low teens, around 10 to 12 degrees," Mr Clarke said.
The north and north-west might receive some rain this morning, but any showers would have dried up by the afternoon.
This year's Dublin parade will have a strong European theme, to reflect Ireland's hosting of the EU presidency.
The bagpipe band from Madrid, Lume de Biqueira, received a "fantastic welcome" when they arrived in Dublin on Monday, Ms Moynihan said.
The band decided to travel to the parade despite last week's terrorist attack on Madrid. They will wear white ribbons today to remember the victims of the attack.
An Italian group, Storici Sbandieratori delle Contrade de Cori, will bring the medieval art of flag-waving to Dublin, while nine marching bands from Europe will compete to entertain the crowds.
Last year an estimated 500,000 watched the parade. This year's, which will be 1.5km long, will follow a route down Lord Edward Street, Dame Street, Westmoreland Street and up O'Connell Street, ending on St Mary's Place, off Dorset Street.
After the parade ends at about 2 p.m. the entertainment will move to Earlsfort Terrace, where the Céilí Mór will run from 2.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. under the tutelage of TG4's Hector Ó hEochagáin.
The funfairs at Merrion Square and Custom House Quay are open today from noon, after some controversy caused by traffic jams earlier this week.
Gardaí have warned of extensive road closures from 7 a.m. along the parade route, with more than 30 traffic diversions in place.
Motorists wishing to cross the Liffey have been asked to use the East Link Bridge, the Church Street Bridge or the M50.
Hatch Street will be closed to traffic from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. while Merrion Square West will be closed all day due to the funfair.
Full coverage of today's St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin and celebrations around the country is available on ireland.com's special festival website.
Readers can send e-card greetings from the site to family and friends and enter into the spirit of the festival with polls, quiz and previous year's highlights.
• The site can be freely accessed at:www.ireland.com/events/st.patricks/
