Derry City and Strabane District Council has approved a pilot ticketing system for a popular Halloween trail after warnings that the event had become difficult to manage safely. The Awakening the Walled City experience, part of the 40th anniversary Derry Halloween festival, will require a £1 booking fee per ticket.

The decision was taken at the council’s June Business and Culture Committee meeting. Council officers reported that growing visitor numbers had led to people stopping, reversing direction and creating long queues, putting pressure on narrow streets, gates and heritage structures and reducing the visitor experience at peak times. Last year councillors rejected a proposal for a £3 individual or £10 family ticket.

Under the new system, the controlled area will start at Bishop Street Car Park, enter the city walls via Stable Lane, run along the Grand Parade and exit at the Apprentice Boys Hall on Society Street. Additional installations and an exit at the former Echo Echo building are being considered. The council expects equipment and entry point management to cost £15,000, with a further £10,000 for a wayfinding system covering both ticketed and non-ticketed areas. Ticketing will be handled through the Millennium Forum box office.

The festival is receiving £100,000 from Tourism Northern Ireland’s International Funding programme. Other attractions include a disco on the upper walls, a large-scale aerial spectacle at the Diamond and a jazz funeral performance.

SDLP councillor Rory Farrell said a ticketing solution was needed to run a safe Halloween, particularly given the anniversary. Sinn Féin councillor Aisling Hutton added that the system would reduce congestion, improve accessibility for wheelchair users, neurodivergent children and older people, and support emergency planning. A council spokesperson confirmed the pilot approach and said officers would explore cost recovery options to bring back to a future committee meeting.