The five locations are Hillsborough, Portrush, Cookstown, Newtownstewart and Antrim.
The events in those locations have been judged of a high standard in terms of activities and
the ability to engage with visitors and tourists.

The selection process included input from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Tourism
Ireland. Official estimates last year calculated that more than 500,000 people either took
part in the parades or enjoyed them as spectators.

The Orange Order Director of Services, Dr. David Hume explained:
“This is the fifth anniversary of our Twelfth Tourist Flagship programme and we believe
that it has been a huge success, Those who apply for flagship status have to undergo a
quite rigorous selection process and we believe that it is good for capacity building within
the Institution, All of those involved put in a tremendous amount of work and are to be
congratulated,” he said.

“We know that more than half a million people enjoy the Twelfth and there is hard
evidence that an increasing number of tourists are planning trips to Northern Ireland at that
time of year so they can see the parades. Many people time their visit home to family and
friends just to see the Twelfth.

“All of our parades are very important and we will be working with all the organisers to maximise the positive impact of the Twelfth parades. But Grand Lodge decided that we should put an extra special effort into five flagship demonstrations this year.

“The idea behind the Flagship Twelfths is to look at the demonstrations through the eyes of tourists. They will be professionally run events, organised to a high standard. We want to engage directly with tourists and visitors and make them feel welcome.

“Cultural tourism is a growing industry and we are determined that the Orange Order will play its part in developing this sector of business. The Orange Order has been working closely with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Tourism Ireland to attract more visitors to the province in July and we appreciate their input. We have built a strong relationship with the tourist authorities. They are the professionals in their world and we have listened to their advice so that we can enhance what is available to the public.”

“The Twelfth is now firmly established on the cultural calendar of Northern Ireland. It is a wonderful event which attracts massive numbers of spectators and participants. There is nothing which can equal the colour, music and pageantry of the Twelfth or indeed the traditions which have made this such an important day to so many people.

Orangefest, on behalf of the County Grand Orange Lodge of Belfast, and Belfast City Centre Management have been working on the initiative for over three years in partnership with the City Council, transport authorities, the police and other stakeholders.

The shops will open around 12.30 when the Orange parade has passed through the city centre and is on its way to the demonstration field at Barnett’s Demesne, near Shaw’s Bridge. They will close around 4.30pm, or one hour before the parade makes its return journey.

“The Twelfth is now a major tourist attraction in the Northern Ireland calendar. We know that as well as local people, there are many others who time their visits to the province to co-incide with the celebrations.

“The County Grand Lodge of Belfast through Orangefest have been extremely successful in enhancing the family friendly atmosphere of the Twelfth following the darks days of the Troubles. The colour, pageantry and music of the Twelfth in Belfast is enjoyed by tens of thousands of people, who after watching the event can enjoy aa meal in a city centre restaurant or do a bit of shopping.

“Last year in conjunction with the police and Council officials, there was a clampdown on street drinking and with the full support of the County Grand Lodge a similar initiative will be mounted this year.”