Sinn Féin will hold its first ard fheis in Belfast this weekend.
It will be the first time that the party has held its annual gathering outside Dublin and the move sets in motion a policy of taking the ard fheis around the country, with Killarney in County Kerry already penciled in for next year.
The move north also comes after a year in which Sinn Féin fought three elections for the Dáil, Stormont and local government in the North where the party returned with a strengthened mandate, this in addition to part leader Gerry Adams topping the poll and winning a Dáil seat in Louth.
With 1,200 delegates arriving in the city for the Friday and Saturday gathering the event also seen as a shot in the arm for the Belfast economy with hotel rooms booked and a live TV audience tuning in to listen to party Adams' speech in the plush Waterfront Hall.
Political observers will be watching to see if Adams, or Martin McGuinness - who is opening proceedings on Friday night - will announce a Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election next month.
Another first for the conference will see party delegates addressed by the Reverend David Latimer, minister of the First Derry Presbyterian Church. International speakers will come from the United States, South Africa, Palestine and the Basque Country.
Looking forward to welcoming party delegates to the city, Belfast chairman of Sinn Féin, Bobby Storey, described this year's ard fheis as historic and timely given that Sinn Féin is now the biggest party on Belfast City Council.
