Belfast 'Orange Carnival' Launched

Organisers of this year's 'Twelfth' procession in Belfast are aiming for a carnival atmosphere.

The opening of shops in the city centre for the Twelfth celebrations (held a day later as the 12th itself is on a Sunday) will also help to attract more people into Belfast city centre, the Orange Order has said.

Under the 'banner' of Belfast Orangefest, the Battle of the Boyne annual parade in the city centre will this year be complemented by an array of street entertainment on July 13.

Aiming to become a major tourist attraction, the traditional Orange Order procession will pass through the city centre between 10am and 12pm.

City centre shops will then be opening for the first time this year, from 12.30pm and 4.30pm.

An information leaflet has been produced jointly by Belfast Orangefest and Belfast City Centre Management.

It will outline details of the procession route, shop opening times, transport arrangements and on-street entertainment.

Among attractions will be street performance shows taking place throughout the city centre.

Even international acts are booked to entertain the public.

These include the Von Trolley Quartet from Australia, Mario, Queen of the Circus from the United States, and The Strangelings who will present The Gaiety Engine.

Also, in counterpoint to other years, public transport will be running with Translink operating a reduced bus and train service.

However, drunken band-followers have tarnished the Orange Order's religious roots in past parades, with the police insisting they will be taking a hard line.

The police said it will be working with parade organisers and partner agencies to take a "robust approach" to underage and on-street drinking this summer

PSNI Superintendent Peter Loughins said: "This year we will again be working to ensure that everyone, whether they are attending parades or not, can enjoy their activities safely and peacefully."

Speaking earlier this week, William Humphrey of the Orange Order said he was confident that this year's event will attract more visitors to the city centre.

He also said all the bodies and agencies involved plan to meet following the event to discuss further developments for next year.

There is high level official support too.

The Twelfth is being supported by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Belfast Peace and Reconciliation Action Plan which aims to develop shared cultural space in the city.

Meanwhile, three other Twelfth demonstrations have been selected as flagships for the biggest festival in Northern Ireland in 2009.

The flagships will be the 'standard bearers' for the 18 demonstrations being organised by the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland.

The events in Banbridge, Bangor and Larnethose have each received special promotional support from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Tourism Ireland.

Host training has taken place to ensure there are people at the flagship parades to welcome visitors.

Special leaflets will be distributed explaining the traditions of the parade.

Official estimates last year calculated that more than 500,000 people either took part in the parades or enjoyed them as spectators.

See: Twelfth Venues

(BMcC)