Dublin and New York are now connected by a ‘portal’ and locals are using it to flirt with strangers
The futuristic installation features a 24/7 livestream between the two destinations allowing real-time interaction between Dubliners, New Yorkers, and visitors to these two iconic cities.
Want to see what people in New York are up to without taking a flight over there? People on the streets of Dublin have been peering into the lives of New Yorkers thanks to a new ‘portal’.
The futuristic installation shows a round-the-clock livestream of the two iconic cities, and there are plans to link up other cities in the future.
Intended to mark Dublin as the European City of Smart Tourism 2024, city dwellers have been using the connection for, well, other purposes.
Why have Dublin and New York set up a 'portal'?
“We are delighted to connect Dublin with New York which we share a deep historical and cultural bond with,” says Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daithí de Róiste, after the portal launched to a crowd of hundreds of people in Dublin on Wednesday.From July the Dublin Portal will also connect to other global city destinations in Poland, Brazil and Lithuania.”
The main idea behind the portal is connection. It was given the green light in Dublin as part of the city’s recent designation as European City of Smart Tourism 2024.
Portals are an invitation to meet people above borders and differences and to experience our world as it really is—united and one,” says Benediktas Gylys, a Lithuanian artist who invented the Portal.
Chatting up locals through the portal
The portal has proved popular with Dublin locals, with crowds gathering to check out what’s happening across the ocean.There have been some.. ahem.. interesting encounters in the 24 hours since it launched.
In one clip shared on social media, a Dubliner can be seen trying to communicate his phone number to a special someone on the other side in New York.
A video was also circulating of the police physically removing someone who was standing in front of the portal.
What is the ‘portal’ linking Dublin and New York that’s gone viral?
The futuristic installation features a 24/7 livestream between the two destinations allowing real-time interaction between Dubliners, New Yorkers, and visitors to these two iconic cities.
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