Twelfth of July parades held across Northern Ireland - BBC News NI

Several hundred Orange Order parades took place across NI in a more localised Twelfth of July to try to keep gatherings smaller than usual. Organisers said they largely stuck to plans for parades of 500 people due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The traditional parades were cancelled last year due to the health emergency, and people were asked to celebrate the event in their own homes and gardens. On Monday morning, the Reverend Mervyn Gibson, the grand secretary of the Orange Order, welcomed the relatively low turnout of spectators at the main Belfast parade. He said: "Of course it is different this year. "Last year it was the Twelfth at home, this year it's the Twelfth near you."