BIG things are happening around the North – with hit US hit TV show Game of Thrones spilling out into the real world!
Giant’s footprints appear on Co Derry beach this morining
It’s all part of a new, 12-week, social media campaign created by Tourism Ireland in partnership with HBO, to showcase Northern Ireland around the world.
Tourism Ireland is organising a series of Game of Thrones-themed stunts – with fantastical props from the hit TV series appearing in surprising locations across the North.
The latest stunt takes place today when people can see true-to-scale cloned giant’s footprints on Portstewart Strand – appropriately enough heading in the direction of the Giant’s Causeway.
The giant’s footprints were created on the Co Derry beach by a team of award-winning sand sculptors from the Netherlands.
Here are some details about the various stunts to date:
– It all began when Tourism Ireland placed wooden signs, pointing the way to the Iron Islands and other Westeros locations, near to where they were actually filmed, in real life, in Northern Ireland. A three-eyed raven even perched on some of the signs.
– This was followed by swords, daggers and maces deposited in a special ‘sharp objects bin’ at Belfast City Airport.
– Things got even more surreal when Tourism Ireland placed Targaryen-farmed dragon eggs ‘on sale’ in St George’s Market in Belfast for the price of 125 Gold Dragons – the currency used in Game of Thrones. The eggs were controlled by remote control and started to vibrate as potential customers came close!
Tourism Ireland is releasing a mixture of short videos and images from the various stunts on Facebook and Twitter – which are then being shared by Game of Thrones fans worldwide to celebrate the show and its filming locations in Northern Ireland. Tourism Ireland is the third largest tourism board in the world on Facebook (after Australia and the US), with almost 3 million fans; and the second largest on Twitter (after VisitBritain), with more than 270,000 followers. The organisation will stage a number of other stunts over the coming weeks – so watch this space!
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with HBO in 2015, to highlight Northern Ireland and its beautiful landscape – through the exciting events of Game of Thrones – on the global stage.
“We aim to build on the success of last year’s campaign, reaching out to the show’s global fanbase and to showcase the spectacular scenery of Northern Ireland.
“Our new campaign is a fun and innovative way to bring the destination to the attention of Game of Thrones fans worldwide. They will see these ads, spiking their curiosity about the landscapes and locations featured in the series and inspiring them to come and explore them for themselves.”
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