Belfast a 'sea of colour' on St Patrick's Day
Hundreds of revellers transformed Belfast city centre into a sea of colour today to mark St Patrick’s Day.
A carnival procession from City Hall marked the start of the £100,000 (€146,000) celebrations, the first to be funded by the council.
Local politicians, community groups and scores of families braved icy winds to take part in the parade to Custom House Square for an open-air concert.
Tricolour flags and sectarian symbols were banned from the event in a bid not to inflame tensions among the unionist community.
But no action was taken against dozens of revellers who waved small Irish flags, which were on sale from a makeshift stall on Donegal Place for £2 (€2.90).
The parade was led by dancers wearing fluorescent costumes and waving rainbow flags.
They were followed along the half-mile route by bright-red drummers, an 8ft papier-mache model of St Patrick, and Vikings on stilts.
A massive green snake puppet – to symbolise the reptile famously driven out of Ireland by the country’s patron saint – was also held aloft by schoolchildren.
Spectators, some with their hair dyed green, lined the route and sounded whistles and blasted horns as the acts passed by.
After the parade, around 1,000 people gathered in Custom House Square for a free concert headlined by Bodyrockers.
To mark the feast day, the red and white flag of St Patrick was flown at City Hall alongside the Union Jack.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the initial festivities passed off peacefully and no arrests were made.
In south Belfast a St Patrick’s Day festival designed to combat antisocial behaviour among students is under way.
Residents in the Holyland area have long expressed concern about the drunken antics of undergraduates and a warden scheme was recently introduced to crack down on disorder.
But Queen’s University and the University of Ulster, which has campuses in the city and Jordanstown, hope the new event will provide a focal point for the festivities and help improve community relations.
A concert by Celebrity Big Brother star Preston and his band the Ordinary Boys as well as the screening of classic Irish movies are among the highlights of the programme.
The three-day festival, which ends today, also features sport, spiritual and arts events.
Major St Patrick’s Day parades were also held in Downpatrick and Derry.
