Taking place on 12 June 2026, the event will bring together more than 500 hospitality and leisure professionals for a night dedicated to celebrating excellence across Northern Ireland. From independent operators and emerging talent to established names and industry leaders, the evening will shine a spotlight on those who continue to raise standards and push boundaries across the sector.

This year’s awards introduce an expanded range of categories, ensuring even greater recognition for the innovation, passion, and resilience that continue to drive the industry forward. New and refreshed categories reflect the evolving nature of hospitality and leisure, acknowledging creativity, sustainability, customer experience and leadership in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Managing Director of Licensed and Catering News, Bill Penton, expressed his enthusiasm, saying: “The LCN Awards have always been about celebrating the remarkable talent within our industry, and with our move to a new venue, 2026 will be our most exciting and inspiring year yet.”

With a vibrant atmosphere, high-profile guests and unforgettable celebrations planned, the stage is truly set for an outstanding night that will recognise achievement, inspire ambition and bring the industry together like never before.

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Organised by 365 Events Ltd, IFEX 2026 is shaping up to be the biggest and most ambitious edition yet, with an expanded exhibition floor and a line-up of exciting new features designed to inspire and connect professionals from across the sector. From cutting-edge products and emerging technologies to live competitions and hands-on demonstrations, IFEX 2026 will once again set the stage for the industry’s very best.

The move to the Eikon Exhibition Centre marks an exciting new chapter for the event. With increased floor space, enhanced visitor facilities, and over 4,000 free car parking spaces, the Eikon provides the perfect platform for IFEX’s continued growth. The venue’s scale and accessibility will allow organisers to deliver more content than ever before, offering visitors an unrivalled experience and exhibitors greater opportunity to showcase their brands to a growing audience of industry professionals.

New features and returning favourites

A hub for creativity and talent, the renowned Salon Culinaire returns, featuring the ever-popular Chef Skills Live Theatre – where hundreds of chefs will compete in back-to-back live competitions. Alongside this, the IFEX Great Taste Market will bring together award-winning producers and artisan food makers, while Edible Art will showcase incredible skill and imagination from chefs across Ireland.

New for 2026, IFEX Kitchen Live!, in association with Chef Network, will bring an exciting interactive cooking theatre to the show. Hosted by celebrity chef Suzi Lee, this feature will showcase some of Ireland’s top chefs creating dishes live on stage whilst chatting with Suzi, offering visitors a front-row seat to watch and hear from top culinary talent.

Also new to the show is the Liquid Minds Stage, a feature that will celebrate barista and mixology through tea and coffee competitions, cocktail demonstrations, and beverage masterclasses. Meanwhile, the much-loved IFEX Photography Competition will make its comeback following a hugely successful debut in 2024, with details to be announced soon.

Adding even more energy to the show floor, the World Skills & Wild Food Arena will make its IFEX debut. This dynamic, hands-on demo theatre kicks off each morning with live skills competitions and in the afternoon, the arena shifts into an immersive Wild Food experience, with engaging demonstrations that explore foraging, wild ingredients and innovative cooking techniques.

Championing skills and innovation

Speaking about the return of IFEX, Toby Wand, Managing Director of 365 Events Ltd, said:

“With a history spanning over 50 years, IFEX has long been the heartbeat of NI’s foodservice and hospitality industries. Our move to the Eikon gives us the space and scope to elevate every aspect of the event – from live competitions to interactive features. With new additions like IFEX Kitchen Live! and the return of Salon Culinaire, IFEX 2026 will celebrate the skills, creativity and innovation that define this industry.

“We’ve had an incredible response from exhibitors, with stand space almost completely sold out months ahead of the show. It’s clear that there’s a real appetite from the trade to be part of IFEX 2026. Visitor registration will go live in early November, and we’re looking forward to welcoming the industry back for three packed days of networking, sourcing new business and making connections.”

With strong backing from leading industry bodies including NI Food To Go, Hospitality Ulster, Retail NI, FSBNI, NI Hotels Federation and the Guild of Fine Food, IFEX remains the must-attend event for industry professionals looking to network, source new products, and discover the trends shaping the future.

IFEX 2026 is taking place from Tuesday 24th to Thursday 26th February at the Eikon Centre, Belfast.   The show opens daily at 10am and runs until 5pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, and to 4pm on Thursday. Registration is now open, and you can register for FREE at  www.IFEXexhibition.co.uk. Follow @IFEX_NI for updates.

Penton Media Group – NI’s Neighbourhood Retailer, Licensed & Catering News and Ireland’s Forecourt & Convenience Retailer – are the Official Media Partners of IFEX 2026.

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Figures released by Belfast City Council show that the city centre averaged 215,172 daily visits during the first two weeks of December, representing a 31% increase compared with the same period last year. The uplift equated to an additional 53,725 visits per day, up from 164,087 during the equivalent fortnight in 2024.

The analysis, compiled by Huq Industries, also recorded an average of 161,447 daily visitors across 2025 to date, highlighting December’s outsized contribution to annual footfall performance.

Although December is traditionally the busiest month for the city centre, the scale of the year-on-year increase was described as “very positive” by city leaders, particularly in the context of recent transport and night-time economy initiatives.

The uplift followed the introduction of Translink’s expanded late-night services, which commenced on 28 November. The programme introduced 11 dedicated night routes operating on Fridays and Saturdays, alongside extended services on selected Ulsterbus and Goldliner routes serving areas outside Belfast.

Lord Mayor of Belfast Tracy Kelly was speaking after a city-centre walkabout with Police Service of Northern Ireland Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton and Belfast’s Night Czar Michael Stewart, when she said:

“While footfall figures won’t be fully finalised for another few weeks,” she said. “This appears to have been a very successful Christmas for the city centre and, as the key driver for the wider Northern Ireland economy, this is a very positive way to end the year.”

Mr Stewart said the enhanced late-night transport provision had already provided practical support to city-centre workers and customers during the festive trading period.

“This Christmas, Belfast is buzzing. The city is alive with people shopping, socialising, and celebrating, which is a real sign of confidence and vibrancy,” he said.

He added:

“Our focus should be on making it a Belfast Christmas – a season of atmosphere, connection, and experience.

“The new late-night public transport services are already helping spread travel demand, giving visitors and staff more flexibility and supporting a safer, more connected city.”

With finalised figures still to be published, the December performance is expected to inform ongoing discussions around transport investment, night-time economy strategy and city-centre trading conditions in 2026.

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Every middle aged person in Belfast seems to have an anecdote from a drunken night out at The Regency Hotel, The Pink Flamingo or The Empire Music Hall from the 80s and 90s. It seemed Botanic Avenue served as a welcome relief for both sides of the community to ‘escape’ to, during the troubles.

Over the last two decades, the nightlife epicenter has obviously moved from the south of the city into the city centre – and rightly so! Our city centre is only now catching up with the rest of the cities in the UK in terms of hospitality density and it’s great to see the difference that nightlife can make in pushing a city forward! Belfast city centre finally has a nightlife offering worth travelling to!

But what of Botanic Avenue now that nightlife is no longer its core identity? I have spent the last few months with some of Botanic’s core businesses thinking about Botanic Avenue’s identity crisis. It didn’t take long for us to discover that Botanic now has by far the most diverse food offering in the city with nearly 40 outlets and over 20 different cuisines on just one street. In addition to the expected Irish, American & Italian outlets, it has every niche you can think of covered including Lebanese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese and even Hawaiian.

When you take the time to notice, Botanic has become really quite extraordinary. It has accidentally transformed into the most diverse and densely populated ‘food outlet street’ in Belfast, but unfortunately its identity hasn’t kept pace. Back to my original question about what comes to mind when you think of Botanic – people think all sorts of things; some are nostalgic of what Botanic ‘used to be’, some think of it as the place to go when its sunny and some unfortunately can’t get past the memory of the recent racist attacks. This confusion is about to change.

Botanic’s new identity has been hiding in plain sight and the core businesses of Botanic have decided to invest in a ‘rebrand’ to finally give it the repositioning it deserves. Over the next 6 months, the brilliance of Botanic will finally be ‘shouted from the rooftops’. Street maps, signage, social media content creation and advertising campaigns have all been planned and funded by the core food businesses of Botanic with help from Queens University and the local MLAs.

Make way for Belfast’s very own Food Quarter.

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The group had previously acquired the hotel building located on the city’s Dublin Road at the start of 2024, and has now taken over the operating business of the hotel from its owners, Essendi. Andras will operate the ibis Budget under franchise from Accor, the world-leading hospitality group with a portfolio of over 5,700 hotels and resorts worldwide. The group now operates four properties in Northern Ireland including ibis Coleraine Riverside, ibis Belfast City Centre, and ibis Belfast Queens Quarter.

ibis budget hotels are described as the smart choice economy hotel, open to everyday adventurers. ibis budget Belfast City Centre has 146 air-conditioned guest bedrooms and a 24-hour reception desk. The hotel team serve food around the clock, from a continental breakfast to late night pizzas, and a full bar service is available. The hotel features a mix of double, twin and family bedrooms and is pet-friendly.

Rajesh Rana of Andras Hotels said “We are delighted to be able to add this wonderful asset to our family of hotels. It is in a great location, close to the City Centre and adjacent to an exciting area of new development including student housing and offices on the bustlingDublin Road. The team, led by manager Jackie Kelly, are doing a tremendous job at the hotel, which is a busy and popular property for visitors to the city.’

Cristina de Oliveira-Frewen, Chief Operating Officer Franchise Operations Europe & North Africa at Accor said “Adding ibis budget Belfast City Centre to the Andras Hotels portfolio highlights our shared commitment to making travel affordable and comfortable for everyone. We greatly value the opportunity to work closely with Rajesh Rana and his dedicated team, whose loyalty and professionalism as long-standing partners continues to impress. Their trust in Accor means a lot to us. ibis budget remains the go-to brand for budget-savvy travellers, and this opening further strengthens both our partnership and Accor’s presence in Northern Ireland.”

Andras Hotels recently opened The Marcus Portrush, which opened in the summer in time for The Open golf championship and is currently on site with a new build aparthotel in Belfast’s Great Victoria Street, under Accor’s Adagio brand.

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