Sinn Féin and the SDLP have criticised a British government decision to fund an Orange Order drive to turn the Twelfth into a festival which would attract tourists. Northern Ireland Office minister David Hanson said the order would receive £104,000 (€150,270) which would be used to fund a new development officer.
The Department of Social Development money will be donated over three years to support an effort to make the annual July Orange celebrations more inclusive.
Mr Hanson hopes the transformation of the Twelfth into what has been called an "Orangefest" would boost cultural tourism, foster better community relations and draw more business into Belfast. "Given the urban renewal under way in Belfast, I believe that the time is right to see whether the Orange Order can achieve a broader understanding and acceptance of Orange culture and tradition across the community," he said.
William Humphrey, vice-chairman of the order's Belfast County Grand Master's Advisory Committee, said Orangemen everywhere would like to widen the appeal of the annual holiday.
"It is in our interest that Belfast is a success story," he said.
However, nationalists criticised the plans. Former Belfast lord mayor Alex Maskey, the first Sinn Féin member to be elected to the position, said the move was absolutely the wrong decision. "It is unacceptable that the British government should fund an organisation which continues to force its anti-Catholic parades through Catholic areas," he said.
"The 12th of July for many nationalists in Belfast represents domination and sectarian violence."
The SDLP's Alban Maginness, the first Catholic lord mayor, said Orangemen were found wanting on "every test of inclusivity".
"They are already helping tourism, but it is Donegal that gets the benefit every July because so many people - and not just nationalists - dislike the whole ugly atmosphere of intimidation and triumphalism," he said.
The author of the Lonely Planet Tourist Guide to Ireland, Fionn Davenport, told the BBC: "Rightly or wrongly, it's seen as a militaristic expression with none of the criteria of a happy, friendly, carnival day out."