Tall Ships in Belfast: City poised for maritime festival

The Tall Ships festival has opened in Belfast.

About 500,000 people are expected to flock to the city's docks for the four-day maritime festival.

This year, Belfast is the home port for the start of the Tall Ships Races. About 50 vessels will be on show from 15 different countries until Sunday.

Northern Ireland's Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell said the event, the biggest of its kind in the city, will boost the economy by about £5m.

He added: "Just as importantly... in the long term, hosting the race offers another excellent opportunity to promote Belfast and Northern Ireland on a global scale."

Belfast previously hosted The Tall Ships event in 2009.

The ships will go on to visit six ports in five countries over the course of the competition.

There are two main sites in Belfast - on the River Lagan beside the Titanic Quarter and at Pollock Dock near Duncrue Street.

Traffic congestion is expected and visitors need to plan ahead.

Special transport and traffic arrangements will be in place to deal with the thousands of expected visitors.

Phillip Woods from Translink is advising people use buses, trains, and special park and ride facilities.

"Plan your journey be aware of the event sites and be aware of what you want to do when you get to the event. Leave plenty of time for your journey. We do expect quite a lot of congestion around the site," he said.

Translink have published details online, external of special transport services being laid on for the event.

There are special shuttle buses available and for those travelling by car, two dedicated park and ride facilities will be available.

Several roads in the city centre and port areas will be closed or restricted for the duration of the four-day event.