Plans for the famous Derry Halloween celebrations have been revealed by Visit Derry.
The city is renowned for its buzzing atmosphere and hosts a number of international festivals and events - including Europe's largest Halloween festival.
Even if coronavirus may have halted this year's traditional parade, there are still plenty of things to get up to in Derry to celebrate.
This year's celebrations, entitled 'Awakening the Walled City', will see an array of unforgettable sights, characters, and digital wonders take place over Halloween weekend, from Friday, October 29 until Sunday, October 31 from 5 pm to 10 pm.
Highlights include several illuminated worlds spread across the city along with the island of Ireland's first ever digital LED installation.
The 360-degree structure will use film, animation, special effect, and augmented reality to create a spectacular lightshow that will enchant audiences with its striking visual display.
The show lasts approximately 8 minutes and will play continuously throughout the three evenings of the festival. There will also be magical storytelling, bewitched, hidden spaces and dazzling displays popping up throughout the city.
Odhran Dunne from Visit Derry said the city is recognised as "the best Halloween destination in the world."
He continued: "Derry Halloween is a shared celebration of wonder and folklore where the unbelievable seems believable for a few enchanted days and nights."
Travel the ghostly world
To ensure no one misses any of the ghoulish goings on, the city will play host to several adventurous illuminated worlds, each with its own programme of activity featuring a range of installations, large scale inflatables, aerial acrobatics, dancing flames, displays and animation.
Worlds One, Two and Three are in Derry City itself, while World Four is in neighbouring Strabane town centre and World Five in Buncrana, Donegal.
Fancy-dress to impress
One thing the city residents, and visitors, do incredibly well every Halloween is dress to impress!
Organisers are hoping that everyone gets into the spirit of Derry Halloween - mums, dads, the kids, friends and even the dog – and wears their funniest or scariest costumes. To join the spooky fun online share your pics using #derryhalloween.
Odhran continued: “Derry is known for its love of Halloween and this year we look forward to safely welcoming visitors over three thrilling days.
“Not only are they guaranteed the famous Derry warm welcome, but they will also enjoy the vibrant atmosphere, the tastes and smells of the LegenDerry food scene and the opportunity to immerse themselves in our rich cultural heritage. There’s something to do for the whole family.
“With lots of surprises lurking around every corner, it’s great to see Derry Halloween return."
Safety first
Event organisers, Derry City and Strabane District Councilm have plans in place to ensure this year’s Halloween celebrations are Covid-safe.
Lots of open spaces allow for social distancing, enabling visitors to enjoy experiences at their leisure. Signage will give advice on how to ensure visitors safety and event staff will be on hand to remind people of the guidelines.
There will be various one-way systems across the city and hand sanitation stations available.
For more information on Derry Halloween’s ‘Awakening the Walled City’ celebrations, click on www.derryhalloween.com
For more Derry news, visit our new site MyDerry.
