Derry City and Strabane District Councillors have rejected proposed charges for certain elements of this year’s Halloween festival.
Last year’s Halloween programme provided activities at over 50 locations throughout the district, with over 120,000 visitors. The celebrations included three nights of ‘Awakening the Walled City’ within the streets of the City Centre.
At this month’s Business and Culture meeting on Tuesday, members were asked to approve the development of a ticketing system for the Awakening of the Walls experience, which would include a charge of £3 per person or £10 for a family – two adults and two children – in order to “maintain a programming and safety standard and to ensure that the visitor has the best possible experience”.
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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.
Ms McCarter clarified that charges would only apply to one section of the city, from Stable Lane to Magazine Street, and that there were no plans to apply charges to other elements of the programme.
Sinn Féin councillor Grace Uí Niallais said she was encouraged that officers were “looking at ways to enhance the experience and revenue for council”, but added that her party would not accept the charges due to inequality issues, as affordability is “different for everyone”.
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.
SDLP councillor Rory Farrell said that, while a ticketing system was needed, his party rejected the proposed charges as “the beauty of our Halloween festival” was that it was free of charge and ensured access for everyone. Councillor Farrell added: “We’re very concerned at the prospect of a two-tiered system, where you get a premium experience if you’re willing to pay and a not-so-premium experience if you can’t afford to.” He conceded that the event needed to be better funded, and argued that council should be pursuing more corporate sponsorships.
DUP Alderman Julie Middleton said many young families were “broadly in favour” of charges if it meant they didn’t have to queue for “long periods of time”. She argued that Halloween was one of the only free annual events that rural constituents can avail of and charging to walk on the Walls “seems unfair”. Stating that she did not support the proposal, Ald. Middleton suggested that council carry out a public consultation on the issue.
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.
“I’ve experienced a lot of frustrated peopled about this,” he said. “Because people feel that they already pay for Halloween through their rates. So I think it’s a bad idea and I don’t support the commercialisation of the Awakening of the Walls.”
Independent councillor Gary Donnelly said the charges would send out the “wrong message” and lead to a public backlash.
“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.”
UUP Alderman Derek Hussey argued that charges were already in place for certain parts of the Halloween programme, such as the Castlederg Apple Fair, and if council was “truly interested in equality” they would fully fund those events also.
“All we’re seeking is a level playing field,” he concluded. “I understand that crowd control is necessary, but let’s have it equal across the board.”
“Let’s have all the events supported by council free to all and keep that in mind going forward; a bit of equality for all throughout our council area.”
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