The Game of ThronesTapestry

 Ulster Museum Belfast

The Game of Thrones Tapestry that is currently on display in the Ulster Museum in Belfast N. Ireland is a magnificent 80-metre long medieval style wall hanging depicting the story of George Martin’s epic Game of Thrones® saga. The Tapestry is on display at the Museum Until July 28, 2019, and plans are being made to add the new series panels in June of 2019. 

The Game of Thrones tapestry was developed as a joint project with Tourism Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland and was unveiled at the Ulster Museum in July of 2017. The Museum can be found in the Botanic District of Ulster right beside Queens University.

If you want to create your own Game of Thrones Tour here is the Ultimate Game of Thrones Guide, it gives you self-drive tips and includes the Tour of Doors

Ulster Museum where the Game of Thrones Tapestry is displayed

Planning your trip to Ireland? – Here’s everything you need to know

Game of Thrones Tapestry is on display at the Ulster Museum until August 2018

The large room of the Ulster Museum that contains the tapestry is massive and the tapestry is absolutely breathtaking. It is a gigantic 300ft (over 80 metre) long piece depicting over 100 scenes from season one to seven of the Game of Thrones show.

The display of the tapestry is breathtaking – there is a small screen set in the corner of the room that shows a stop motion video of the actual weaving of the tapestry and you can just imagine the hours of work that went into this priceless piece.

Weaving the Game of Thrones Tapestry a short video

The tapestry is a Bayeux style linen piece, was sourced from the last surviving linen mills in Northern Ireland, Thomas Ferguson’s local mill in Banbridge. They are also involved in producing some of the fabrics used for the costumes in the show.

It was an intensive and secretive process with Game of Thrones fans, HBO and Tourism Ireland developing a series of sketches for the tapestry, which would then need to be coloured and developed into the patterns for weaving.

Weaving the Game of Thrones Tapestry

Once the colours were decided upon, the weaving team began in shifts to create the base tapestry. Each shift took 4 hours to weave one metre of the tapestry. To capture the magic of this process a stop action camera was put in above the loom and then the single photos were stitched together to create the weekly time-lapse video above.

Once the weaving was finished, it was sent to Belfast to be embroidered. The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum near Holywood C. Down was the secret location. There was a team of 36 stitchers working in groups of 6-9 on each panel. The “team” included staff from the Ulster Museum from all areas. There were also a large number of volunteers who contributed from various guilds throughout Belfast. Members of the Northern Ireland Lace Guild, the Patchwork Build and the Embroidery Guild all contributed an outstanding amount of skill and hours of work.

Embroidering the Games of Thrones Tapestry

These hand-embroiderers meticulously retouch every fine detail – from King Joffrey’s golden crown to Daenery’s shimmering hair to the bright oranges and golds in the dragon fire. Using a simple colour palette to keep the tapestry as authentic as possible you can see from the photos that the embroidery includes golds, silvers, greens and reds.

The full Northern Ireland Game of Thrones Tapestry is currently on display at the Ulster Museum in Belfast. A new section of the tapestry will be added every week, for the duration of Game of Thrones® season 8. The public can see the tapestry at no charge until August 2018.

Once the final season of the Game of Thrones is finished May of 2019 the Game of Thrones tapestry will travel to Bayeux in Normandy, north-western France, home of the world-famous 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry. The Game of Thrones® Tapestry will be exhibited there from September 2019, near its historic counterpart – which was a key source of inspiration for the making of the Tapestry.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland has said that the Game of Thrones Tapestry “has attracted visitors from all over the world to Northern Ireland and has been seen by around 150,000 visitors to the Ulster Museum.”

The Game of Thrones® Tapestry will be exhibited in the historic Hôtel du Doyen, within walking distance of the Bayeux Tapestry, from September to December 2019.  

The network announced plans to leave several Game of Thrones sets in place and open them to the public in 2019 after the show’s final season has aired.

This conversion from actual filming locations to tourist attractions will give GoT fans their first-ever chance to set foot inside many of the series’s most ubiquitous and recognizable sites of Winterfell, Castle Black, and King’s Landing all being considered for the standing exhibit. The sets chosen for the “Legacy” project will also display a variety of related costumes, props, and weapons, as well as digital and interactive exhibitions. Additionally, Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge, Northern Ireland will be opened for a more formal studio tour that will “showcase a wide array of subject matter from the series spanning all seasons and settings,”.

So much has been happening in the GOT world here in Ireland. There is a stunning new exhibit which is the official Game of Thrones tour is coming to Belfast. It will be hosted at the Titanic Exhibition Centre from April 11 until September 1, 2019, and will feature immersive experiences using storylines from the HBO fantasy series. 

This incredible exhibit will give you a chance to step into the fantasy and become a citizen of Westeros. Experience the battles, see the costumes and props close up it’s going to be amazing. 

Fancy seeing some more films and TV shows that are made in Ireland here is my top 40 list

Another great epic series filmed in Ireland that you should check out is Vikings on the History Channel

When you are visiting all the GOT sites don’t forget to head to the Glens of Antrim this is a must see

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