What's On in Belfast

There’s lots of events in Belfast, and we’d love you to be part of what's going on!  

Belfast is a big place with busy, big-hearted people, which means that there’s lots going on all over the city, all year round, for everyone. Here’s just a taster of what’s on in Belfast to whet your appetite.   

Let’s start with the biggest arts festival in Northern Ireland.  

Every October, the Belfast International Arts Festival puts on over 100 events featuring Irish premieres and a host of top international acts.   

Started in 1962, the festival is the city’s longest-running contemporary arts event. There are not too many festivals that can boast having Ravi Shankar or a certain Jimi Hendrix among their performers. Expect the very best theatre, dance, music and film from around the globe. 

But what about the rest of the year? 

Lunchtime bites of comedy, poetry, theatre, music and more.  

The Out to Lunch Arts Festival, which takes place in January each year, doesn’t just offer lunchtime shows featuring the best in comedy, theatre, literature and music, it also offers a warm embrace in the dark but cosy Belfast winter.  

Unleashing children’s creativity.  

The Belfast Children’s Festival, which takes place in March, is home to an eclectic programme of events. Expect to see everything from baby raves and cardboard hotels for mice to new plays written by teenagers destined to follow in the footsteps of Brian Friel. 

The city on screen, on-site and in celluloid  

As well as presenting the best in new, short and classic cinema, the organisers of the ten-day Belfast Film Festival like to do things a little differently every April. 

They are big on-site specific cinema experiences. They’ve screened the Evil Dead in Ormeau Park, Cool Hand Luke in the old Crumlin Road Gaol, 2001: A Space Odyssey at the Titanic Dry Dock and Jaws in the Bangor Aurora swimming pool of all places - definitely a festival worth getting your teeth into.  

More arts in the Cathedral Quarter.  

Featuring more than 150 shows in 30 venues, the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival packs a mighty punch each May. 

Since 2000, the festival has been a major contributor to the cultural-led regeneration of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter and is rightly renowned as one of the most dynamic festivals in the UK. Billy Bragg, Patti Smith, Guy Garvey, Johnny Marr have all appeared over the years.  

Brewing up a storm in Botanic.  

Northern Ireland has seen a boom in microbrewing in recent years. For those in the business, the annual Beer and Cider Festival in the beautiful Botanic Gardens in May is a chance to come together and raise a toast to their craft.  

Snap up our photo festival.  

Recently ranked among the top ten photography festivals in the world, the Belfast Photo Festival in June attracts close to eighty-thousand visitors a year. Never afraid to get down and dirty, this biennial event spans 30 museums, galleries and public spaces and often pops up with unexpected encounters with the lens. 

Tattoos in Titanic Belfast.  

Another weekend to into your diary is the Titanic International Tattoo Convention Belfast which boasts a similarly international line-up every July. This event has been held in Titanic Belfast for the last number of years. It attracts over one hundred tattoo artists and hundreds more willing participants.  

Ceilis, concerts, classes and craic.  

The last week of July usually sees Belfast go mad for trad. Ceilis, concerts, classes and impromptu craic at sessions are all part and parcel of the Belfast Trad Fest. Every year it gets bigger and when the sun is shining, there’s no better scene anywhere in the world.