City celebrates best ever Halloween

Londonderry’s most successful Banks of the Foyle Halloween Carnival came to a spectacular climax last night when over 30,000 costumed revellers took to the streets to enjoy the Curious Carnival of Lost Souls as it travelled through the streets ahead of the stunning Fireworks Display that lit up the River Foyle and created a unique festival atmosphere across the city. Over the week we expect well over 40,000 people would have taken part in the week long Halloween event our biggest ever.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Nov 2013, 10:59 BST
One of the fantastic Halloween floats delighting crowds in Londonderry (DER4413PG053)One of the fantastic Halloween floats delighting crowds in Londonderry (DER4413PG053)
One of the fantastic Halloween floats delighting crowds in Londonderry (DER4413PG053)

From early afternoon, families of all ages gathered in the city in full costume to attend the many events organised as part of the festival including the Inferno, the theatrical illuminations at Ebrington, which attracted 7,000 people over the three evening shows, the family fun and frolics at St Columb’s Hall and the Guildhall, as well as ghost tours, haunted treasure hunts and the Continental Market.

Mayor Cllr Martin Reilly hailed this year’s festival as a phenomenal success and thanked everyone involved in making it such a success. “The Carnival Parade, organised by the North West Carnival Initiative, showcased the wealth of local talent and creativity this city has to offer with over 1,000 local children and community groups taking part in what was the best carnival parade the city has seen. The event was fantastic for the city in economic terms, we had excellent hotel occupancy across the city throughout the week. A key element of the city’s success for Halloween is the partnership working between Derry City Council and the support agencies that help us to deliver such a great event for the city. This event could not happen without the support of all those agencies that help make Halloween a positive experience for the thousands who come out to enjoy it.”

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Linda Williams, Head of Economic Development and Marketing with Derry City Council said the events organised throughout the week were exceptionally well attended and there are still a number of events taking place this weekend.

“We had a fantastic week of events that saw record numbers of people coming out to attend. Among the events that proved extremely popular were the Awakening of the Walls and the Inferno events while the Shapeshifters Catwalk and Halloween Ball were fantastic in showcasing local creativity. The family entertainment and storytelling at our venues, proved hugely popular and the Continental Market added to the entire Halloween offering. We are delighted that the fun continues in the city over the weekend with movies at the Nerve Centre, the Drive-In Movie at Ebrington, the multi arts Killer Books festival and the Diwali Festival of Light. In addition the Continental Market will continue over the weekend while stars such as Professor Green and DJ Fresh will entertain young people at the Take Over event at Ebrington and culture vultures can visit the prestigious Turner Prize that is currently showcasing in the city. “