Culture Night hoping for fleadh boost as it returns to Belfast

Seven women in red dresses and tops wave in front of Belfast Grand Central Station to promote the Cathy's Call event for Culture Night Belfast.

The organisers of Culture Night Belfast are hoping the city can build on the success of the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as it delivers more than 200 free events on Friday.

The fleadh last month exceeded expectations, bringing 1.6m visits to the city over eight days of celebrations.

Director of Culture Night Belfast, Lois Kennedy, said she believes Belfast is "moving forward" and hopes that can now be enhanced further.

"We all know the vibrancy that came from the fleadh, we don't have the same resources and budgets of the fleadh, but we think it will be another amazing event on the night."

Lois Kennedy, a woman with long fair hair, wearing a dark top. She has two butterfly brooches attached to her top.

"I think the fleadh was a brilliant example of Belfast fell in love with itself again," she added.

"And I think that is continuing, we are all getting to that point where we become proud of living and working in Belfast and we are really all starting to celebrate that more."

Kennedy said the theme of this year's festival is "be a city explorer" and she is encouraging people to not confine themselves to familiar areas, but to "challenge themselves".

A woman holding a microphone. She is wearing a bright pink top and appears to be singing into the microphone.

A 19th-century former ironmongery warehouse in Belfast city centre, the Tropical Ravine in Botanic Gardens and the site of a former police barracks on west Belfast's Glen Road are among the unique locations hosting events on Friday.

The festival started at 16:00 and ran until 22:00 BST.

There was a "living jukebox" in Royal Avenue, a wrestling corner at Grand Central Station and Kate Bush fans got the chance to strut their stuff at nearby Saltwater Square for a "Wuthering Heights extravaganza".

A number of people playing violins at Culture Night Belfast in 2025. There is a woman at the front with long brown hair and a dark blouse, playing a violin.

The Kitsch Sisters, who seek to empower women through "creativity, connection and community" hosted "Cathy's Call" which they described as a "flashmob, immersive dance".

"When people turn up, they must be wearing red, it is essential," Aoife McAteer told BBC Radio Ulster's the Ticket.

"You don't have to be a dancer, you don't have to have any rhythm, you don't have to come with a big group of people, just arrive.

"Arrive dressed in red, at seven o'clock [in the evening] and we have a choreographer there called Lauren, who is going to take everybody through the steps."

A woman in a blue dress with dark hair dancing at Culture Night Belfast in 2025. There is a woman in a red and black dress to her right. There is a MAC sign in the background.

The original Culture Night in Belfast was launched in 2009 and continued to grow in scale, with the 2019 event attracting more than 100,000 people.

It was suspended in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic and briefly returned in 2021 on a smaller scale.

It was then paused, before returning in 2025.

Last year, Belfast City Council approached both the Department for Communities (DfC) and the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) asking them to consider supporting the festival, but both departments said there was no spare money to do so.

'The arts sector in Belfast is on its knees'

Adam Turkington, a man with brown hair and a beard. He is wearing a black t-shirt and standing in front of a wall with cartoon art on it.

Adam Turkington, was involved in the organisation of Culture Night between 2011 and 2016 and is a creative consultant for this year's festival.

"The scale isn't quite what it was, when I was in charge, largely because of hideous cuts to the arts sector, the arts sector in Belfast is on its knees," he said.

"It is much harder to get people to sign up to do Culture Night to be honest, people want to do it, but they just don't have the resources, or the resources are pitched to the limit already.

"The event only exists because [Belfast] City Council has put their money where their mouth is and put the money up to bring it back."

Three people sat at a table. They appearing to be doing some sort of arts and crafts.

He said the fleadh had "super-charged" the debate around matters such as "pedestrianisation and the value of the arts".

"Essentially it is not really in our gift at this point strategically or financially to pedestrianise," he said.

"We sort of feel that we really want to focus on the venues and the arts organisations that make Culture Night and not make it about a street party essentially, but to push people into spaces that they maybe wouldn't go."

'A gift to see the city shine'

A man in a light brown t-shirt on stage at a previous Culture Night Belfast. He is surrounded by a number of people near wooden tables, who are holding their phones up.

Turkington also said it was important to protect the "organisations and the sector that allows Culture Night to happen".

"I love this event because it is ours, and we get to show off our city.

"Culture Night, as far as I am concerned, should showcase the best of Belfast, for the citizens of Belfast. It is a gift to them to come out and see their city shine."

Two people. One is standing and holding the other, who is upside down. The person who is upside down is making an 'L' shape with their legs. They are both wearing blue. In the background there is a tree.

Culture Night also took place in Londonderry on Friday, with events including a celebration of Irish and Ulster-Scots poetry and literature in the Guildhall.

Original source Culture Night hoping for fleadh boost as it returns to Belfast

Back to home