Excitement Grows in Run-up to Titanic Belfast Launch

With just three days to go until the opening of the world’s largest Titanic attraction - Titanic Belfast in Northern Ireland - international interest in the new visitor experience is soaring.

The finishing touches are being put on the iconic six-floor building and its surrounding plaza with over 50,000 tickets already having been pre-booked from over 20 different countries including Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

Northern Ireland’s newest visitor attraction features a unique architectural design influenced by several maritime themes, including ice crystals, ships’ hulls and the insignia of the White Star Line, the owners of the Titanic. Over 3,000 shards make up the building’s impressive exterior while the plaza includes the world’s largest outdoor map of the northern hemisphere, tracing Titanic’s route across the Atlantic.

The new 15-tonne ‘Titanic’ sign – the same weight as Titanic’s main anchor – dominates the building as visitors approach. Laser-cut and made from eight, 30mm-thick solid steel plates, the 4.5m-tall, 15m-long sign is the same length as the private promenades that were available on RMS Titanic’s most expensive accommodation, the First Class Parlour Suites.

“The effort that has gone into making Titanic Belfast not only an impressive physical spectacle, but also an amazing experience inside, has been simply immense,” says Tim Husbands, CEO of Titanic Belfast. “Everything about this project, from the Titanic sign, to the use of breathtaking technology to bring Titanic’s story alive, has been designed to give Belfast an attention grabbing, international attraction.”

In conjunction with the opening of the new Titanic Belfast visitor attraction, the Titanic Belfast Festival will take place from March 31 until May 2012 and will include plays, tours, exhibitions and talks all themed around the Titanic. Commemorations for the lives lost on the anniversary of the ship’s sinking will take place from April 14 to 15.

About Titanic Belfast

· See attached Titanic Fact Sheet for further information on the Titanic, the new visitor centre and Belfast’s ship building heritage

· Titanic Belfast officially opens Saturday, March 31, 2012

· Features nine interpretive and interactive galleries that explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of Titanic, as well as the city and people that made her.

· Visitors will learn about the construction of RMS Titanic and the wider story of Northern Ireland’s industrial and maritime heritage.

· Other features include temporary exhibits, a 1000-seat banqueting suite, education and community facilities, catering and shopping space, and a basement car park

· Further information on events and festival surrounding Northern Ireland 2012 is available ondiscoverireland.com

Photo copyright Anne Gordon

Post from Ireland Tourism