Culture Night Belfast returns this September with fresh new look after five year absence

Over 100 events are taking place in the Cathedral Quarter and across the city

It’s official – Culture Night will be back in Belfast next month for the first time in five years.

The last full Belfast Culture Night held in 2019 attracted around 100,000 people who packed into the city’s Cathedral Quarter for the free cultural event. It was scaled back in 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions and then paused in 2022 for a “complete rethink” before the Department for Communities (DfC) withdrew funding in 2023.

Now it’s back on Friday, September 19 with a fresh new look and an amazing line-up of events right across the city.

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Residents and visitors will be treated to free pop-up activities and drop-in events taking place at venues from 4pm to 10pm, as part of Culture Night celebrations across Ireland.

This year’s event is being funded by Belfast City Council, with additional support from Linen Quarter and Cathedral Quarter BIDs. Programmed and delivered by MayWe and DaisyChain Inc, it has been designed with the city’s artists and creatives, via an open call process.

The result is a programme of more than 100 family-friendly events, happenings, workshops, performances and exhibitions, reaching into every corner of the city and across Belfast city centre.

Whether it’s Titanic wrestling at Grand Central Station, the Firepoise fire and light show in CS Lewis Square, Oíche Chultúir rooftop concert at An Chultúrlann, a family roller disco in Shaftesbury Recreation Centre, or live oil paintings of commuters as they travel through York Street Station, Culture Night has it all. Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tracy Kelly, said the council was delighted to support the start of a new chapter for Culture Night in Belfast. “We recognise the value of the arts to our city – not just in terms of protecting jobs and delivering an economic boost, but in creating vibrancy, attracting people into our city centre and local neighbourhoods, championing the benefits of creative expression and exploring our city’s diversity and shared history,” she said. “Culture Night holds a special place in hearts here and it is fondly remembered for its feeling of joy and spontaneity, as well as people coming together to enjoy something different from the norm, but uniquely Belfast. This year, by focusing on families and venue-based events, we hope to plant seeds for the future growth of this event once more, providing not just a great night out, but a vital platform for the arts sector to showcase their talents and value.” MayWe Event Director Lois Kennedy said the return of Culture Night was a watershed moment for the city’s creatives: “Here we are again, taking our place alongside the many dozens of Culture Night towns and cities across Ireland gearing up for a fantastic evening on Friday 19 September.

“Our arts sector couldn’t be prouder or more excited to have the opportunity, thanks to the support of the council, to re-ignite the Culture Night flame in the city we love. “This is a new Culture Night Belfast for a new era – reimagined and reinvigorated, artist-led and venue-driven – but what hasn’t changed is the spirit, the ethos, that sheer communal sense of ‘Belfast is class’!

“To all our Culture Night veterans, we say welcome back. To our first-timers, we say welcome – you’re going to love it!”

Last September, punters visiting bars in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter were treated to a night of free entertainment as part of an Alternative Culture Night. In lieu of an official Culture Night, the owner of the popular bars, Willie Jack, took it upon himself to put together a packed one-night programme for pubgoers.

The proprietor of The Duke of York, The Dark Horse, The Harp Bar, The Friend at Hand whiskey shop and the Sea Holly Gallery in the Cathedral Quarter curated a special night of art, comedy and music to give back to culture vultures across the city. Now dozens of venues are putting on events at Culture Night Belfast 2025, alongside Translink and the city’s three BIDs (Business Improvement Districts) – Linen Quarter, Cathedral Quarter and Belfast One – as well as independent event and hospitality providers, heritage buildings and council venues, including City Hall, 2 Royal Avenue and the Belfast Stories building at the junction of North Street and Royal Avenue.