What roads are closed and where to park during Derry's Foyle Maritime Festival

Next week Derry’s quayside will be transformed as the maritime festival kicks off bringing in Tens of thousands of visitors.

Things to look forward to in the event are live music, markets, animation and water based activities and of course the food.

Although before the event the festival has urged you to plan your journey taking into account a number of restrictions which are being put in place to facilitate this year’s newly reconfigured festival site. These include a number of road and carpark closures and diversions over the course of the event. To help avoid delays and reduce congestion, visitors are also being asked to consider using public transport to get to and from the event.

Speaking ahead of the event Mayor Lilian Seenoi-Barr said: “The Foyle Maritime Festival is always a huge draw for visitors from far and wide, and with so many people expected we are appealing to everyone to plan their journey to ensure a pleasant and stress-free visit.

“There are a number of carpark closures already to facilitate improvement works in the city centre so we would ask people to check the traffic and travel information to see where restrictions apply.

"Much work has gone into ensuring measures are in place to reduce delays but we need the cooperation of visitors to ensure things run smoothly. The Maritime Festival is always a real opportunity to showcase our beautiful City, so let's work together to ensure this is a safe, enjoyable experience for everyone!"

To facilitate this year's festival there will be road closures in place at Queen's Quay from Harbour Square to Queen's Quay Roundabout. This will include a complete road closure from 8pm, June 24 until 7am July 2 to facilitate the event.

On-street parking restrictions will also be in place throughout the festival, and parking will be available at car parks throughout the city centre. However, the Queen's Quay car park will be closed for the duration of the festival to allow for events along the quayside.

There is also free event parking at Fort George and people are encouraged to avail of this facility and to refrain from parking at Sainsbury's car park. Council would encourage people to use the city centre car parks and Magee College Car Park on Rock Road is also available for parking.

Council is committed to ensuring that this year's festivities are as accessible and inclusive as possible, and as a result have provided dedicated accessible parking only at the Strand Road Car Park. A number of other facilities have been introduced at this year’s festival, including a Quiet Space and accessible toilets located adjacent to the Council facility on the quay.

The Council encourages cycling to the event, but in the event area cyclists are advised to dismount.

Visitors are encouraged to tune into local radio and council social media platforms for updates on travel and possible further restrictions.

The festival will provide Information Points and toilets at convenient locations along the Quay. All facilities will be sign-posted and stewards and event staff will be able to provide direction.

Additional late bus services will be running to a number of locations on the Showcase evening, Saturday June 29.