BELFAST TAKES THE IRON THRONE
A travelling GoT exhibition has opened in Belfast — with a Northern Ireland studio tour slated to start next year
As the much anticipated final season of Game of Thrones hits our screens tomorrow, those fans lucky enough to be in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the next few months can delve deeper into their obsession on a visit to maker HBO’s official exhibition. “Game of Thrones: The Touring Exhibition” features costumes, props, weapons and armour, as well as several interactive, themed areas, featuring settings. These locations include the landscapes of the North, the treelined pathway of the Kingsroad, the regal settings of King’s Landing, the conquered city of Meereen, Castle Black — the home of the Night’s Watch — and the frozen lands Beyond the Wall.
In the showstopping centrepiece of the exhibition, visitors can even gaze upon the chair that caused all the trouble—the incrediblyun comfortable looking yet utterly desirable Iron Throne.
While the exhibition has previously toured elsewhere in Europe, this is the first time it is appearing in the UK.
Northern Ireland is a fitting choice to coincide with the launch of the final season, as the country has been an important filming location for the show, both in natural settings and at Titanic Studios in Belfast, where much of it was filmed over a 10-year period.
Besides the studio, Northern Ireland boasts 25 filming locations including Cushendun Caves, Murlough Bay, Ballintoy Harbour, Larrybane, the Antrim Plateau, Castle Ward, Inch Abbey and Downhill Strand.
The exhibition is on at the TEC Belfast exhibition centre, near to Titanic Studios, and slated to end on September 1.
If you can’t make it by then, take heart. According to Lonely Planet, HBO has announced that many of the props and sets from the show will find a permanent home in Northern
Ireland from next year — at the Linen Mill Film and Television Studios in Banbridge (midway between Belfast and Dublin).
Some of the show’s most iconic sets were built there, including the Starks’ Winterfell Castle, the Greyjoys’ Pyke, the Tullys’
Riverrun and the Three-Eyed Raven’s cave.
Now HBO has partnered with the studio on plans to convert these sites into a new 10,000m² tourist attraction.
Though few details have yet been released, the studio’s website confirms that “this engaging, enchanting tour will allow fans to truly step inside the world of
Westeros and beyond”, with “authentic sets, costumes and props from all seasons of the hit series, including the upcoming eighth and final season”. — Elizabeth Sleith
See gameofthronesexhibition.com and linenmillstudios.com