The Irish dance phenomenon Riverdance turns twenty this year, and with the milestone comes a special 20th anniversary world tour with a Vancouver stop in April.

An innovative blend of dance, music and song, Riverdance began as the interval act in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. Since then it has traveled the world, broken box office records, and packed theatres on pretty much every continent.

Here are five more things you probably didn’t know about Riverdance:

1. By the numbers

During its 20-year run, the show has been performed 11,500 times and seen by over 25 million people in 47 countries, across 6 continents, in over 515 venues.

2. Frequent flyer

Collectively, the show has traveled 750,000 miles, the equivalent of 30 times around the world.

3. Bringing it home

The show has sold over 3 million copies of its Grammy Award-winning CD and has sold 10 million Riverdance videos & DVDs.

4. World record

Riverdance holds the Guinness World Record for the ‘Longest Riverdance Line,’ which featured 1,693 participants from 44 countries dancing on a bridge overlooking the River Liffey in Ireland.

5. Schooling the Irish way

Since the Riverdance Summer School began in 2015, over 500 Irish Dancers from 15 countries have attended the school and learned the iconic Riverdance steps.

Riverdance – The 20th Anniversary World Tour plays Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre for five performances only on April 13-15. Visit for tickets and information.