To maximise on these opportunities, we have planned a major programme of international-scale events in 2012 – ni2012: our time, our place.  This will provide a global platform to showcase Northern Ireland as a place to visit, work, study and invest.  A programme of seven big events has been developed and recently launched to press and industry.  Four of these events are linked to the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival:

21 June 2012: Peace One Day Concert at Ebrington, Derry~Londonderry

30 June 2012: Land of Giants on the Titanic Slipways, Belfast

Early July 2012: Deborah Warner’s Coastal Installation

Hans Peter Kuhn Flags at the Giant’s Causeway

The Olympic and Paralympic Games and the associated London 2012 Festival provides a great opportunity for Northern Ireland to be inspired by the Games and to support the events delivered as part of the Festival.  The Games will attract the eyes of the world on the UK – and Northern Ireland plans to ensure that we deliver events that will welcome these audiences from around the world to our shores.

The main objectives for ni2012 are to:

- Change global perceptions of Northern Ireland

- Raise the profile of Northern Ireland as a must-see visitor destination

- Drive visitor numbers

- Generate economic impact

- Increase civic pride

Being a London 2012 Festival Supporter will help us well on the way to delivering on these objectives.

2012 is a chance to change how people see Northern Ireland, and to re-position us as a place to live, a place to work and a place to invest.  We are delighted to be part of the London 2012 Festival to share its ambitions of creating outstanding moments of creative excellence, driving tourism and inward investment and inspiring generations to come to achieve greater things than they ever thought possible.