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NI 2012 – Your time, our place
So you want to make 2012 the kind of year to tell your grandkids about? You’ve landed on the perfect party page. Rather incredible festivities are afoot in Northern Ireland for 2012, and you’re very much invited.
Think of NI 2012 as a scrapbook of festival frolics, arty parties and epic concerts just waiting to be filled in. This is a once-in-a-lifetime party, and for the sake of your grandkids' story time – you won’t want to miss it.
NI 2012 has been rocking to a very broad beat - from living art and star-studded concerts to glamorous galas and even a spot of sailing. It all kicked off with the Titanic Belfast Festival, marking the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the famous liner as well as the opening the doors of the magnificent new Titanic Belfast visitor centre. Just when you’ve taken all that in, you can scoot on down to the 50th Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s and the unmissable Peace One Day Concert in Londonderry. Of course, you’ll also be donning your boater to fit in with the nautical vibe as the World Clipper Yacht Race moors itself in Londonderry.
To cut a long story short - a party like this isn’t easy to find, so grab a camera, wear a smile and make your NI 2012 scrapbook one to remember.
Titanic Belfast
As the city that built the Titanic, it makes sense for Belfast to host the festival of festivals in her honour. Running through April and May the Titanic Festival packed quite a punch; we’re talking Titanic theatre, tours into the bones of the build and the grand opening (really grand, in fact!) of Titanic Belfast, the world’s largest Titanic visitor attraction. As if that lot didn’t make your jaw drop, MTV made a post-EMA visit back to Belfast to get the party popping with a concert right on the slipways where the liner was launched. We like. We like a lot.
Peace One Day
With the title UK City of Culture 2013 adding some pep to Londonderry’s step, it’s fair to say this is a city at the top of its game. The walled wonder will be hosting a cracking concert in June to promote the Peace One Day campaign for a global truce. Headed up by filmmaker Jeremy Gilley and A-list hunk Jude Law, the tunes will flow from the city’s newest open-air event space at the exquisite Ebrington Barracks.
Land of Giants
The largest (or maybe we should say ‘most giant’?) outdoor arts event is Northern Ireland has ever seen plodded into Belfast. The spectacular one-off show took place on the Titanic slipway, where another of Northern Ireland’s most famous ‘giants’ was created. The show also referenced a few other local giants including Finn McCool (he of the Giant’s Causeway), Jonathan Swift’s ‘Gulliver’ and Harland and Wolff’s huge Samson and Goliath cranes. You might call this the, ahem, big one…
A Coastal Installation
So you love theatre and art but you rarely get to see them as a whole? Well, renowned director Deborah Warner and respected thespian Fiona Shaw’s living art installations dotted around Northern Ireland’s coastline may just fit the bill. Think vibrant, thought-provoking installations that will pop up from dawn ‘til dusk along the rugged wonder of the North Coast. Just when you thought the scenery couldn’t get any prettier.
Clipper Maritime Festival
Avast mateys (they say that, right?) – the Clipper Round the World Race made port in the City of Londonderry to add some nautical spice to NI2012. Grab a straw boater and walk the plank (ok, last time) to the marvellous Maritime festival. You can even rap with the chaps from the city’s own yacht, ‘Derry-Londonderry’, about their adventure spreading word of the city’s title of UK City of Culture 2013. Fun ahoy (sorry)!
50th Belfast Festival at Queens
One of Northen Ireland’s festival gems, the Belfast Festival at Queen’s is celebrating its 50th year in action in 2012 and it sounds (literally) very special. Past visitors read like a terrifically trendy list with Jimi Hendrix and Laurence Olivier among those who made the trip to Titanic’s home town. It’s not all about the music either, so open your mind to cinema, dance, comedy and well, yes, lots of great music. Sounds promising.
Giant’s Causeway Event
UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Giant’s Causeway is about to be decked out with a state-of the-art visitor centre worthy of the wonder. Bringing some architectural awe, the new centre boasts charming tearooms, on-site orientation and some shiny new information points to make exploring easier. Not to mention newly engineered walking routes for a giant or miniature leg-stretch. Keep your eyes open for the ‘giant’ art installation to mark the opening in 2012. The London 2012 festival has commissioned this project with partnership funding from Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
Getting Here
Getting to Northern Ireland is easy peasy. There are three main airports; Belfast International, George Best Belfast City, and City of Derry Airport which serve nearly all major UK airports. Ferries make nifty links to England and Scotland – you’ll be coast to coast from Scotland to Northern Ireland in an hour! A well-linked road and rail network makes Belfast and Dublin only two hours apart.
Belfast Music Week
The MTV EMAs aren’t the first time Belfast has gotten its groove on. Oh no. Belfast is a stage for some of the most rocking live music around. Whether the tunes are home-grown or from visiting talent, you can be sure anyone who’s anyone has a visit to Belfast planned for 2012. You could say, it’s music to your ears...
