Twelfth 2024

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The iconic County Antrim coastal town of Carrickfergus, with its Castle and historic links to King William III, is among the venues for this year's Twelfth of July celebrations.

Carrickfergus will join the likes of Belfast, Ballymena, Newtownstewart Londonderry and Killylea among the 18 venues in Northern Ireland which will be playing host to processions to mark the 334th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.

Preparations are at an advanced stage for the biggest day in the parading calendar, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to participate or spectate in what is rightly regarded as one of the largest annual festivals in Europe.

Thousands of Orangemen, women and juniors – accompanied by in the region of 600 marching bands of all types – will be on parade at the various locations with much pageantry, colour and heritage on display. The County Armagh demonstration – which will be held in the village of Killylea this year – is firmly established as the largest Orange gathering in the world.

Belfast hosts the longest Twelfth parade on the day, with participants walking over six miles to the field. A large contingent of Scottish visitors will travel to take part in the Belfast parade, which will be live streamed on YouTube for those who can't be present.

The capital city and Ballymena are the only venues where Twelfth demonstrations occur annually. Other sizeable parades will take place in Irvinestown (Fermanagh), City of Londonderry, Benburb (Tyrone) and Gilford (Down).

The 18 demonstrations on Friday, 12 July 2024, will be held in: Newtownstewart, Benburb, Ballygawley, Newtownards, Ballynahinch, Annalong, Gilford, Ballymena, Broughshane, Carrickfergus, Cloughmills, Derriaghy, Ahoghill, Belfast, Killylea, City of Londonderry, Moneymore and Irvinestown.

The Twelfth demonstrations will follow the traditional Rossnowlagh parade held in the Republic of Ireland on the preceding weekend. This year the annual Donegal procession takes place on Saturday, 6th July.