More than 20,000 people have now booked tickets to attend the 50^th International Eucharistic Congress at the RDS from 10-16 June 2012 and the option to book online has now been extended until 4 June 2012.

The closing ceremony; ‘Statio Orbis’, at Croke Park on Sunday 17 June is a fully seated and ticketed event and the final allocation of tickets are now available through our new booking options.

IEC2012 has today announced a number of new booking options for those who would like to be part of this historic event.

• Special Events ‘Dual Tickets’ for the Opening Ceremony on 10 June and the Statio Orbis, Closing Ceremony, on 17 June, are now available to purchase together for €40 on the Congress booking page: www.iec2012.ie/registration
• A limited number of tickets are also available for Statio Orbis, Closing Ceremony at Croke Park on 17 June in the Upper Cusack stand and Upper Hogan stand.  These can be purchased for €10 from:

1. Tickets.ie:  https://www.tickets.ie/event.aspx/iec-statio-orbis-mass-2012-croke-  park-dublin-17-June-2012/Z3WGP

(b)  Selected Centra and Super-Valu stores:  https://www.gaa.ie/tickets-and-merchandise/tickets/super-valu-and-centra/

In addition the following options remain available on www.iec2012.ie until 4 June:

• Full 7 day programme in RDS from 10-16 June:  €105
• Any 3 consecutive day programme in RDS from 10-16 June:  €70
• Admission to Statio Orbis in Croke Park can be purchased with the above options for an additional:  €10
• Single day ticket for any day at RDS (excluding Final Mass):  €35

Congress organisers anticipate up to 25,000 people will gather at the RDS each day from 10–16 June for an extensive programme of events that includes 223 keynote speakers and 160 workshops comprising talks, addresses, group reflections, meetings, concerts and plays.

Up to 80,000 pilgrims will gather in Croke Park for Statio Orbis, the closing ceremony that will be celebrated by Papal Legate, Cardinal Marc Ouellet.

The full programme of events is available at: https://www.iec2012.ie/programme

Ends

Further information:

• Aisling Harmey, Media Relations Manager, 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012,

Tel: 00353 (01) 234 9903    Mob: 00353 (0) 87 137 2447    Email: press@iec2012.ie

• Aoife Connors, Media Officer, 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012,

Tel: 00353 (01) 234 9940    Mob: 00353 (0) 87 628 0580    Email: pressofficer@iec2012.ie

Notes for Editors:

• The 50^th International Eucharistic Congress 2012 will take place in Dublin from 10 – 17 June 2012 with up to 25,000 pilgrims expected to attend each day at the RDS, including international pilgrims representing more than 99 different countries.
• IEC2012 will transform the RDS into a Eucharistic Village for an eight day festival of faith and culture. The Eucharist will be celebrated in the Liturgy and adored in the Prayer Space.
• The Congress is an international gathering of people, held every four years somewhere in the world, which aims to promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church; to help improve our understanding and celebration of the liturgy and to draw attention to the social dimension of the Eucharist. These aims are achieved through a programme of pastoral preparation in the years leading up to the Congress and a programme of liturgical and cultural events, lectures and workshops over the course of one week.  Previous Congresses took place in Quebec (2008) and Guadalajara (2004)
• The theme of the Congress is ‘The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one Another’ (Communion – like Solidarity – means a relationship of mutual love and self-giving).
• On 17 June, more than 80,000 people are expected to gather and celebrate Statio Orbis, the Final Mass, of the 50^th International Eucharistic Congress 2012 at Croke Park Stadium.
• There are a total of 223 keynote speakers as part of the IEC2012 programme of events, which includes 38 speakers in the main arena delivering Catechesis (teaching), personal testimonies, homilies and addresses.
• A total of 144 presenters will deliver workshops during Congress week
• There are 41 speakers delivering addresses at the Chiara Luce Youth Space for young people between 17 and 25 years old.
• A total of 160 workshops including talks, addresses, group reflections, meetings, concerts and plays
• The full programme is available at: https://www.iec2012.ie/programme
• For more information: www.iec2012.ie
• Registration for the Congress is now live on https://www.iec2012.ie/registration