Derry's Halloween celebrations are the biggest in Europe
Derry City and Strabane District Councillors have rejected proposed charges for certain elements of this year’s Halloween festival.
Head of Culture, Aeidin McCarter, said certain portions of the Awakening of the Walls experience were massively overcrowded in 2024, with visitor queues stretching along Magazine Street, and said a ticketing system would allow council to anticipate visitor numbers and manage crowds. UUP Alderman Darren Guy said he was “on the fence” about the request. He noted that there was “chaos” on Magazine Street last year with people attempting to visit the Walls, so council needed to look at ways to handle crowds. However, he was also concerned that charges would “set a precedent” whereby constituents and visitors could be charged to walk the Walls throughout the entire year.
People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said he was sympathetic to the challenges facing officers due to queues and crowds and the need for more funding, but he concurred that the charges would be “a lot of money for some people” during the Cost of Living crisis and could make the event exclusionary. He proposed that members formally reject the portion of the officers’ report around applying the charges.
“It could potentially be seen as a slippery slope,” he said. “So to charge for sections of the event would be, in my opinion, just wrong. I’m not against it being ticketed, if it’s down to health and safety, but I do not think there should be a charge because there are residents who just won’t be able to afford it and it will keep them away.”
Halloween Apple DUP SDLP Ulster Unionist Party
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