Thousands of people have been enjoying the grand finale of the Halloween festival in Londonderry, considered to be the largest of its kind in Europe
The closing parade made its way through the city centre and was followed by a spectacular fireworks display on the riverfront
People from all over the world are in Northern Ireland's second city for the conclusion of the four-day carnival, which is marking its 40th anniversary
A huge thank you to everyone who followed along and joined us to enjoy the many spooky sights and celebrations across the city as the 40th anniversary of Derry's Halloween carnival draws to a close.
From our roaming reporters who were out and about across the city this evening, Ashleigh Swan, Erin McQuaid and Dylan Johnston, and the team back at base, Michael McBride and Gerry Bradley - it's goodbye for now!
They came in their thousands to enjoy the spectacular fireworks display as Derry Halloween celebrations come to a dazzling close!
A fantastic end to the 40th anniversary of the festival.
Ashleigh Swan
BBC News NI
Now that the parade is over, Carla F Martinez and Armando Chavira from Los Angeles in California are among the throngs gathered to see the fireworks display along the river front.
Armando found out about the festival online and decided that he just had to come and experience it first hand.
Carla particularly loves the design of the parade and says a lot of effort has been put into all the costumes and massive parade floats.
Sean and Liz, from Lurgan, brought a little animated movie magic to this year's festival by dressing up as Minions, the lovable yellow characters from the Despicable Me films.
"It has been absolutely brilliant," says Sean.
Asked about his favourite part of the parade, Sean says the Ghostbusters car was a clear winner.
Ashleigh Swan
BBC News NI
Jacqueline McDougall has travelled over from Scotland to experience Derry Halloween for the very first time.
Having seen the festival advertised, she knew it would be right up her street, as a self-confessed Halloween lover.
She has been blown away by the celebrations, particularly the creativity and scale of the parade floats.
And as the parade draws to a close, she has one thing left to do - find the perfect spot to watch the fireworks.
Ashleigh Swan
BBC News NI
Sticking with the Ghostbusters theme, Eamonn and Naoise Kerr have certainly dressed to impress as they made the trip from Belfast to enjoy Derry's 40th anniversary Halloween parade.
Eamonn says they came along last year and enjoyed the celebrations so much that they just had to return for another night of Halloween magic.
With Ghostbusters having such a prominent position in the parade, it seems like you really do know who to call this Halloween!
Dylan Johnston
BBC News NI
New Gate Arts & Culture Centre brought some Ghostbusters magic to Derry's 40th anniversary Halloween parade.
Featuring Highland dancers, performers and plenty of supernatural fun, they have certainly made an impression throughout the week with performances inspired by the hit 1980s film.
Crowds along the Quay have also enjoyed seeing them in the parade, adding to the Halloween spectacle and bringing a little extra ghostly magic to the parade.
Ashleigh Swan
BBC News NI
Gabriel, from Mexico, and Laidy, from Colombia, are among those enjoying the parade.
Laidy says what she loves most about the evening is seeing people of all ages dressed up, with everyone happy and enjoying themselves
The pair have been taking in the atmosphere and are thoroughly enjoying the celebrations so far.
The Derry Halloween parade - one of the highlights of the four-day festival - is now in full swing.
Thousands have lined the streets of Northern Ireland's second city to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the carnival in style.
As well as dance performances from schoolchildren, a number of vehicles are taking part in the parade, including a vintage bus and a funeral hearse.
There have also been several birthday cake-inspired floats - because no birthday celebration would be complete without cake!
A little behind schedule, but better late than never - and it hasn't dampened the spirits of the thousands of people who've lined the streets to watch.
Derry's carnival parade is now under way, with colourful costumes, music and plenty of Halloween magic as the city's 40th anniversary celebrations reach their grand finale.
This year's parade features spectacular performances from local community groups, schools and international performers.
It will be followed by a spectacular fireworks display on the river front.
As thousands line the streets to wait for the main parade to get underway, the chief executive of tourism body Visit Derry says it is the local people who have made Derry Halloween the success story it is.
Hotel rooms are like hen's teeth, with the 40th anniversary festival estimated to have attracted around 120,000 people over the past four days.
Odhran Dunne from Visit Derry says Derry Halloween has been central to the city's marketing for decades, particularly over the past 10 years as it established itself as Europe's largest Halloween festival.
He says the city was promoted as a year-round destination for visitors seeking a unique atmosphere and a warm, welcoming experience.
Dunne says preparations for the following year begin almost immediately after each festival ends, with plans already in place to start promoting the 2027 celebrations.
He says Derry has firmly established itself as the Halloween capital of the island of Ireland, with the festival continuing to attract growing numbers of visitors from around the world.
Keiron Tourish
BBC News NI north west reporter
Tourism NI chief executive Laura McCorry has praised the importance of Derry Halloween in attracting visitors to the north west and boosting the local economy.
She says her organisation has long been a strong supporter of the city's Halloween Festival, highlighting the wider economic benefits that major events bring to Northern Ireland.
“Tourism is really important for Northern Ireland. It supports over 70,000 jobs and currently contributes £1.2bn in revenue to the economy.
“Over the next ten years, we are working to grow that. In fact, we have ambitions to double it, so events like this provide a much-needed boost for the local economy," Laura says.
“They give visitors a reason to come here and spend longer in our cities. That's really crucial for Northern Ireland as a whole.”
Image source, DCSDCThe hugely popular illuminated drumming group Spark! are back for Derry Halloween this year.
The colourful performers lit up the Guildhall and performed to crowds beneath Luke Jerram's Earth installation as part of the Awakening the Walled City Trail on Friday evening, and will be back on the streets shortly for the main parade.
Created by a company of performer-makers based in the north east of England, Spark! have spent 14 years touring their spectacular illuminated drumming performances across more than 40 countries.
They have performed at Glastonbury Festival and taken their show to audiences in Dubai, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait.
No surprise that they are one of the most popular acts of the festival.
Lisa and Lorraine have been coming to Derry Halloween for many years.
Lisa says she remembers dressing up as Super Mario and even Marge Simpson, but this year she decided to go with Tic Tacs.
There are 220 balloons on the front and back of her costume.
“I saw it on social media and thought, ‘I can do that costume better',” she says.
We are out of breath just thinking about how long it took to blow up all those balloons.
Erin McQuaid
BBC News NI
The parade is due to begin at 19:00 GMT, and crowds of people are already vying for the best spots along the route.
It will feature more than 600 community performers, with floats, music and street theatre forming part of the procession.
It will start on Strand Road, making its way to Harbour Square roundabout, then along the Foyle Embankment and back along Queen’s Quay.
Barra Best
BBC News NI weather presenter
Some early rain won’t dampen the spirits as Europe’s biggest Halloween party gets underway.
Rain is expected to clear east through this evening, hopefully in time for fireworks.
In terms of temperatures, it’ll become chillingly spooky once rain clears as cooler air follows behind.
Michael McBride
BBC News NI
This is a city known for its murals, and a special piece of street art has been specially commissioned to celebrate four decades of Derry Halloween.
Created by local arts collective Peaball, the artwork marks the festival's 40th anniversary and celebrates its journey from what was once a small community event to what organisers describe as Europe's largest Halloween festival.
Located on Market Street, beside the Primark building, the mural draws on local folklore surrounding an ancient nobleman said to have starved to death in captivity.
A skeletal figure is also depicted on the city's coat of arms, earning Derry the occasional nickname of the "City of Bones".
Derry City and Strabane District council says the mural will now serve as a year-round attraction for visitors.
Erin McQuaid
BBC News NI
All the way from Glasgow, Cruella de Vil and her Dalmatians loved their first experience of Derry Halloween so much that they've returned for a second year running.
They're certainly turning heads on the streets of Derry with their fantastic group costume, bringing a little Disney magic to the city's Halloween celebrations.
Dylan Johnston
BBC News NI
While many Derry Halloween revellers are tucking into pizzas and burgers from the city's many food stalls, one street performer is serving up something considerably hotter!
Circus entertainer Dan Dapper has been drawing crowds with his spectacular fire-eating act, swallowing flames and extinguishing a burning torch in his mouth.
The daring performance has been delighting onlookers, but don't try this one at home!
Dan is a trained professional with years of experience, so we'd recommend leaving the fire-eating to him and sticking to the food vans!
Image source, DCSDCBrian Doherty, a former city centre publican, is credited as one of the people who helped launch the nowfamous Halloween celebrations in Derry.
He owned Doherty’s Bar on Magazine Street and, with Halloween 1985 on the horizon, decided to try something different by hosting a fancy dress party and encouraging all his regulars to come in costume.
The night was a huge success, drawing cavemen, more than one Incredible Hulk, a few Ronald Reagans and even someone dressed as Margaret Thatcher.
A security alert would bring the night to an early end but it also marked the beginning of something special, laying the foundations for the Halloween celebrations that would eventually put the city on the map each October.
Doherty said that from that point on it seemed that people realised it was an opportunity to have a great time.
Official celebrations were soon established in subsequent years on the civic calendar and the event has snowballed ever since into what it is today.