Twelfth of July celebrations take place in Belfast City Centre

Tens of thousands of people are beginning to line streets across Northern Ireland as the Twelfth of July gets underway. Orange Order parades are set to dominate Saturday just hours after Eleventh Night bonfires were reduced to smouldering embers. The festivities will be spread across 19 main locations to mark the 334th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne where the Protestant King William of Orange triumphed over the Catholic King James II. It comes after the burning of bonfires at an estimated 300 locations in loyalist neighbourhoods across the region on Thursday and Friday nights. Of all the loyal order parades to take place on Saturday, around 30 have been officially categorised as sensitive by the Parades Commission. Locations of sensitive parades this year include Belfast, Coleraine, Keady, Dunloy, Rasharkin, Strabane, Newtownabbey, Maghera, Newtownbutler, Portadown, Glengormley and Bellaghy. More than 4,000 police officers and police staff will be working on July 12. Read more: https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/no... ________________________________________________________________________ Have you downloaded the Belfast Live app? Search for Belfast Live in the Google Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/de... Search for Belfast Live in the App Store if you're on iOs: https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/belfast... SUBSCRIBE to other Belfast Live social channels: TWITTER |   / belfastlive   INSTAGRAM |   / belfastlive   FACEBOOK |   / belfastliveonline   WEBSITE | https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/ You can get daily news updates straight to your inbox via our daily newsletter - sign up here: https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/newslet... GET IN TOUCH WITH BELFAST LIVE   Email: [email protected] Got a story? Call us on 028 90568000