A Riverdance Miscellany

• Number of people who have seen the show live or on television: an estimated two billion
• Number of shows running concurrently around the world: three
• Number of countries in which Riverdance has been performed: twenty-seven
• Number of pairs of shoes shined before each performance: eighty-five
• Maximum number of dancers on stage at any one time: seventy
• Bottles of mineral water consumed by the cast each week: one thousand
• Key exports from the Republic of Ireland: cattle, butter, beer, computers and culture
• Number of people worldwide who identify themselves as Irish: seventy million
• Number of people in America who identify themselves as Irish: thirty-nine million
• Percentage of those self- identified as Irish living outside Ireland: ninety-five percent
• Number of times Ireland has won the Eurovision Song Contest: seven times
• Number of competing Irish dance shows:

a)    Three by Michael Flatley: Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger

b)    Other competing dance shows: five including: Spirit Of The Dance: ‘Broadway meets Riverdance’ and Rhythm Of The Celts: ‘Braveheart meets Riverdance’

• Number of bodhrans (traditional Irish drums) made by Roundstone Musical Instruments since the launch of Riverdance: between fifteen to twenty thousand per annum
• Number of countries to which these bodhrans are sold: twenty
• Number of goats available to supply goat skin for the construction of the bodhrans: not enough (a shortage in Irish goat supplies has been caused by the extra demand created by Riverdance)
• Number of taps per second achieved by Michael Flatley: thirty-five
• Annual earnings of Michael Flatley: $50 million (‘not bad for a kid from Chicago who does a jig’)
• Date of Michael Flatley Day in Chicago: April 4^th 1997   
• Insured worth of Michael Flatley’s legs: £25 million
• Previous employer of Flatley’s butler: Buckingham Palace.

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