A RALLY 'in support of loyalist areas' and marking the 12th anniversary of the flag protest will be held outside the City Hall Christmas Market on Saturday.
Posters advertising the event have gone up in loyalist areas of the city ahead of the weekend.
Attendees will gather at Sandy Row Orange Hall at 12.30pm on Saturday before parading to the City Hall where the Christmas Market will be packed with seasonal shoppers and revellers.
An application on the Parades Commission website says around 100 people are expected to participate in the parade to City Hall, led by a single band, Ulster First Flute. The application puts the expected number of parade supporters at 30.
The parade will first make its way to the currently closed Boyne Bridge for a 'short stop' to protest the dismantling of the bridge as part of Translink's huge Belfast Central Station transport hub plans. The parade will then proceed to City Hall via Great Victoria Street, College Square East, Wellington Place and Donegall Square North for the rally at 2pm.
A Belfast City Council source said that while City Hall staff and police will be monitoring the parade and rally, no trouble is expected given the small number of participants and supporters and the Christmas Market is expected to continue with interruption.
"There's clearly not much appetite for remembering the flag protest given how it ended," our source said. "Similar events in recent years have taken place and not even been noticed, to be honest."
