Halloween in Derry, Northern Ireland, offers a Halloween party that is perhaps the best in the world. The Halloween parade is incredibly powerful and people really go all out when it comes to getting spooky. To be part of this was something very special. Here is a picture bomb!
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Derry in Northern Ireland
Derry, or Londonderry, is a city in Northern Ireland. The official name of the city since 2007 is Londonderry, but it is also often referred to as Derry. Behind the two different names is a conflict between nationalists (mainly Catholics) and unionists (mainly Protestants). Whatever you call it, this is a nice little town, with a fully preserved curtain wall.
Halloween in Derry
Halloween in Derry is sometimes referred to as the world's best Halloween party or 'THE best place to spend Halloween'. The celebration of Halloween originated in Ireland with the Celtic harvest festival 'Samhain'. On 31 October, people celebrated the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. At this time, it was believed that the souls of the dead were on the move ...
In the mid-1980s, Halloween in Derry began to evolve into a bigger party than anywhere else in Ireland, and today the parade and festivities attract more people than ever before. lots of people. Around 85,000 people live in the city, but when it's time for Halloween, another 45,000 people arrive. And almost all of them are dressed up ...
Press trip with participants from all over the world
I (Peter) was invited on a press trip via the tourist office, together with about 15 other journalists, bloggers and youtubers from all over the world. They really came from the whole world. I was alone from Scandinavia and was joined by a nice group from Italy, France, Spain, Holland, Australia, China, Japan, USA and Canada.
Halloween throughout the city
Halloween in Derry is more than the big parade. The holiday is celebrated everywhere, and everywhere you go you see pumpkins, ghosts and people in costume. They even lit up the church so that it glowed an eerie shade of green. It's supposed to be a ghost town and they've really nailed it.
Fright Night during Halloween in Derry
We went to an event called "Fright Night", at a place called The Jungle the day before Halloween. The Jungle is Ireland's largest outdoor activity centre and this week it's dedicated to Halloween. They have six different fields and bunkers for horror. People come here at night and go out into huge cornfields, and get chased by zombies ...
Halloween parade in Londonderry
On the evening of 31 October it was finally time for the big parade. Wow! This was really, really cool. No expense is spared when dressing up here, and everyone really goes all out. all in when it comes to costumes and make-up. Here's a picture bomb from the parade.
Pub night after the parade
After the parade, some of us, including me and Emanuele from Italy, went out to have a few beers and mingle with ghosts, skeletons and other random people. Check out his Instagram (239K followers) which is super cool, where I am also featured in the last two posts. Search "emalloru"
What else happens during Halloween in Derry?
Say what not happening during Halloween in Derry? Those who haven't had enough can also take a guided 'Ghost Bus Tour'.
Of course, Derry also offers a lot of other interesting things, such as history, sights and good food. I will tell you about this in another post!
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Ama de casa says:
WOW!!! What an event and what commitment from everyone! Must have been amazing to experience this irl 🙂 🙂
But you... Did you feel really good? You look a bit green in the face... 😉.
03 November 2019 - 10:17
Helena says:
Really cool, right? Haha, a little green maybe 😉
03 November 2019 - 21:27
Elisabeth says:
Seems to have been a nice event. I didn't get the pictures up. They were probably too large, as there were many of them. You had a nice experience!
03 November 2019 - 12:59
Helena says:
Oh how sad that you didn't get the pictures up! Yes, there were a lot of pictures ... so if the internet was a little shaky maybe there were problems. A fantastically cool festival in any case! 🙂
03 November 2019 - 21:27
BP says:
WOW! Talk about all-in! It really was there. It's probably the most impressive parade I've ever seen. It even beats the Fallas de Valencia!
The face paintings and "costumes" are fantastic and lavish.
The girl with "half" the face in the third picture from the end gets my prize.
03 November 2019 - 17:28
Helena says:
Right? Yes, really cool! Love when you go all in like this! 🙂 And of course she had cool makeup. the girl!? 🙂
03 November 2019 - 21:28
Renate's travels says:
Wow, this looked like so much fun! Super cool costumes and many exciting events. Running through a cornfield with zombies following you must be quite an experience. xD I'd love to go to (London)Derry next Halloween!
03 November 2019 - 18:52
Helena says:
Yes, haha, this is where you should celebrate Halloween! Definitely! 🙂
03 November 2019 - 21:29
Emma, sun like sun? says:
How delicious! Parades where everyone looks the same or completely different. So cool!!! The grey ones with the basket for the face, it actually looked really scary because it was so different from the others. So there is a little cold chill in a film - scary!
04 November 2019 - 12:41
Lena in Wales says:
Wow, what an experience!
I had 4 Northern Irish friends here for lunch on Saturday and we talked about Halloween. 3 Protestants and 1 Catholic, so it was a mixture of the name Derry and Londonderry.
Only one of them knew about the celebrations in the city, plus me, because I had just read about it on your site. Sometimes it takes a Swede to get things organised.
05 November 2019 - 8:21
Lena - good for the soul says:
That's quite an outfit people have! Really advanced. I wonder how small children react? Are they so used to it that they just find it exciting? Here at home, many children would probably be scared.
I'm glad to be part of your celebration.
Hug Lena
06 November 2019 - 6:07