The Return of Colmcille, one of the highlights of Derry’s year as City of Culture, has won a major accolade.
The festival collected the Best Outdoor Event award at this year’s Event Awards ceremony held in London last night.
The annual awards are the only industry accolades that celebrate the creative, experiential and supplier sectors of the live events industry.
Created in partnership with Frank Cottrell Boyce, writer of the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, the Return of Colmcille was a £1.25 million commission – designed as a centrepiece to the first ever City of Culture programme in Derry.
The once in a lifetime event, which comprised five individual shows in just a 30 hour period, told the story of city’s founder St Colmcille; monastic superhero, historic vanquisher of the Loch Ness monster and key figure in the spreading of literacy and the concept of peace-making across Europe.
Pageantry, procession and spectacle unfolded in spectacular style across two days, as the most ambitious outdoor arts project in Northern Ireland’s history saw the saint return to his city to experience stories of all that he’d missed during his exile on the Scottish Isle of Iona.
SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan has said he is delighted festival had won the award.
He said: “I would like to congratulate everyone at the Culture Company and the creators of the Return of Colmcille pageant – Walk the Plank – on winning this prestigious award.
“I hope that both Marty Melarkey and Frank Cottrell-Boyce are rightfully proud that the original concept and lively script which were translated with such imagination and participation have resulted in this well deserved award.
“That pride and satisfaction should be shared by all who volunteered and lent themselves to making such a diverse, lively and powerful celebration such a remarkable success.
“Last year’s Return of Colmcille festival was a truly spectacular weekend which celebrated not only our patron saint but the city he founded and the culture he inspired.
“It was fantastic to celebrate him and the city’s pedigree with such fun, colour, music and imagery.”
Mr Durkan concluded: “It will be a major civic memory, a landmark of a special year and it is wonderful that the work which went into it has received this accolade.”
Derry Mayor Cllr Brenda Stevenson said the award was a huge honour for everyone involved in the event.
She said: “The Return of Colmcille was a hugely successful event for the city with over 1,000 participants involved in relating the story of the city’s patron saint in a unique, creative 30 hour display to over 40,000 people.
“It was one of the City of Culture’s landmark events that really engaged with the wider public and helped showcase the city’s history and talents.”
Cllr Stevenson concluded: “I am delighted that the event has secured this prestigious accolade and feel proud that our city continues to reap the benefits of the City of Culture year.”
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