BBC’s Made Of Here campaign docks in Northern Ireland with Titanic-sized drone display

950 drones were used to ‘recreate’ the RMS Titanic in Belfast harbour, beside the Titanic Slipways in reference to the BBC series Titanic Sinks Tonight

Belfast harbour was transformed into a striking tribute to the city’s most famous ship this week as the BBC launched its Made Of Here campaign in Northern Ireland with a dramatic 950-drone recreation of RMS Titanic.

The large-scale aerial display, staged on Monday 30 March using what the BBC described as a “flotilla” of almost 1,000 drones, marked the campaign’s arrival in the region and placed Northern Ireland’s screen industry firmly in the spotlight.

For local audiences, the symbolism could hardly be more powerful.

More than a century after Titanic first set sail from Belfast in 1912, the ship has now been brought back to life above the city’s harbour skyline in a major public-facing celebration of programmes made in Northern Ireland and the creative talent behind them.

Timed to Titanic’s historic departure

The RMS Titanic is recreated using drones to mark the start of the BBC’s Made Of Here marketing campaign in Northern Ireland. The drone display is inspired by the four-part series Titanic Sinks Tonight, which we made in Belfast.

The centrepiece film from the campaign is due to be broadcast on Thursday 2 April at 8pm on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC Two Northern Ireland, immediately after EastEnders.

The timing is highly significant, matching the same date and time Titanic departed Belfast in 1912.

That historic connection gives the campaign a strong civic and emotional resonance for Northern Ireland audiences, particularly in Belfast where the ship remains one of the city’s defining historical stories.

Elements from the production will also be shared across social media platforms and YouTube, extending the reach of the campaign well beyond traditional television audiences.

The filming of the drone activation itself was produced by the BBC Northern Ireland Creative team.

Inspired by one of the BBC’s biggest factual successes

The factual docu-drama Titanic Sinks Tonight was the inspiration for the first Made Of Here event in Northern Ireland.

The display draws direct inspiration from the acclaimed four-part BBC factual series Titanic Sinks Tonight, which was filmed and produced in Northern Ireland by Belfast-based independent production company Stellify Media.

Originally broadcast in December 2025, the series has become the BBC’s biggest history documentary of the 2025/26 period so far.

The figures underline the scale of its success.

According to the BBC, the programme has attracted an audience of more than two million viewers across the UK, with almost half of viewers watching through BBC iPlayer.

That performance not only highlights the appetite for Titanic’s story but also demonstrates the growing national impact of factual programming produced in Northern Ireland.

The docu-drama took an immersive approach, reconstructing the disaster minute by minute — from the moment the ship struck the iceberg to its final disappearance beneath the Atlantic.

It drew on letters, interviews, personal memoirs and public inquiry accounts, using first-hand testimony to tell the story through the voices of those who lived it.

BBC says campaign celebrates storytelling rooted in place

The drone display is part of a BBC Campaign that highlights the BBC’s unique ability to connect with people across the UK through outstanding homegrown storytelling, be in landmark dramas, comedies or factual programmes.

The wider Made Of Here campaign is designed as a tribute to the cities, towns and communities across the UK that have shaped some of the BBC’s best-known programming.

At its core is a short film celebrating the broadcaster’s ability to connect with audiences through distinctly homegrown storytelling — from landmark drama and comedy to major factual productions.

Northern Ireland now becomes the latest location to be featured, following previous campaign activity in Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow.

For viewers across Northern Ireland, the move is another clear sign of the region’s growing prominence within the UK television landscape.

The BBC said the campaign is intended to highlight how creativity rooted in places such as Belfast, Cardiff, Manchester and the Home Counties remains central to its identity.

BBC and producers praise Belfast connection

Northern Ireland is the latest location to be spotlit by the Made Of Here campaign, following activity in Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow.

Simon Young, Head of History at BBC Factual Commissioning, said:

“We are so proud to have brought the Titanic back to Belfast in the shape of this extraordinary TV series. The city took the production of Titanic Sinks Tonight to its heart, and the result is a gripping second-by-second examination of the ship’s final hours. There’s no better way to mark the construction of the most famous ship in history, and the creation of this epic series, than by bringing Titanic to life in lights on Belfast harbour.”

The remarks underline the campaign’s public-interest significance beyond television promotion alone.

For Belfast, Titanic is not simply a historical subject — it is deeply woven into the city’s identity, industrial heritage and international profile.

Keiran Doherty, co-CEO of Stellify Media, also highlighted the importance of producing the series in its home city.

He said:

“Filming at home in Belfast gave us something special, a connection to the Titanic that goes beyond the visuals. We weren’t just imagining the story, we were standing in it.”

That sentiment speaks directly to the campaign’s central message: that the strongest storytelling often comes from places with authentic roots in the stories being told.

More Northern Ireland-made titles to feature this month

The campaign will continue throughout April with a substantial multimedia rollout across Northern Ireland.

The BBC confirmed that further programmes made in the region will be featured across billboards, press advertising and cinema placements.

Among the titles set to appear are the hit drama Blue Lights, which is currently filming in Belfast, Line of Duty, which the BBC says will soon begin production in Northern Ireland, alongside Hope Street and the award-winning comedy Funboys.

For Northern Ireland readers, this wider list may be just as significant as the Titanic spectacle itself.

It reflects the region’s continuing momentum as a major production hub, with local crews, studios, locations and creative companies increasingly central to UK-wide broadcasting.

In public-interest terms, that carries cultural and economic significance — from jobs in the screen sector to the way Northern Ireland’s places and stories are represented to audiences across the UK.

With Titanic once again commanding the Belfast skyline, the campaign sends a clear message: Northern Ireland is not just the setting for great television — it is helping make it.