Three years ago, 1,000 British soldiers and 850 police officers were deployed on to the streets of Derry in a massive security force operation during the Apprentice Boys of Derry parade.
Today, when up to 10,000 Apprentice Boys parade through the city centre, no British soldiers will be on duty and the number of police officers will be reduced to 450.
"It just goes to show what accommodation and agreement between the Apprentice Boys and community groups has achieved," said PSNI Supt Johnny McCarroll, who is in charge of today's police operation.
"Everyone who was involved in helping the community reach this stage deserves great credit. It's my belief that we are now at the stage where the Apprentice Boys' parade is accepted as part of the culture of the Apprentice Boys," he said.
The governor of the Apprentice Boys, Mr William Allen, said his members expected the parade to pass off peacefully. "Tomorrow's parade is the climax of what has been a tremendously successful Maiden City Festival and I'm looking forward to a peaceful celebration, something which will create a good atmosphere through the city," he said.
Prison visits off at rooftop protest jail
Prison visits to two wings of a jail where inmates are staging a rooftop protest were cancelled today.
The protest at Maghaberry Jail, near Lisburn, in Co Antrim, began yesterday while a government-appointed review team visited the jail as part of its inquiries into staff and inmates' concerns.
One of the protesters is believed to be a dissident republican while the other three have no paramilitary background. During the protest they unfurled a banner reading "Segregation Now".
Dissident republicans have also been involved in a dirty protest and have warned that it could escalate into a hunger strike similar to the one which saw 10 prisoners starve to death in 1981.