Visitors flock to Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Belfast, with a full menu of music and events

– along with further extension of pedestrianised event zone

Belfast experienced an influx of visitors last week for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, with Sunday’s opening event making it the busiest day in the city centre so far this year.

Hosts Belfast City Council, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and Ards CCÉ welcomed data released by Belfast One Business Improvement District which shows total recorded footfall of 176,464 in the city core on Sunday 2 August – a 95% increase for the location from the same day the previous year.

Sunday’s figures show the opening day of the Fleadh outperformed previous big event draws in the city centre, including this year’s St Patrick’s Day and Belfast Pride celebrations, as well as last year’s Culture Night.

Crowds peaked at around 3pm on Sunday, with footfall figures of just under 25,000 for the area around City Hall.

Statistics for Monday 3 August also show footfall figures of 165,077 – a 75% increase on the same day last year. The data is taken from Belfast One BID cameras which track footfall in the square mile around City Hall.

Visitor numbers of over 800,000 were anticipated across the eight days of the event, which ran until Sunday 9 August. The early released figures indicated strong turnout for the event.

The high footfall led organisers to take the decision to close the roads directly in front of and to the sides of City Hall – Wellington Place, Donegall Square North, Donegall Square East and Donegall Square West – to all traffic from 5am Wednesday 5 August to support people to move around safely.

These roads were closed to all traffic from Thursday until the event finished on Sunday evening, further extending the pedestrianised event zone, as part of the phased road closures put in place by Belfast City Council.

There were adjustments to some Translink pick-up and drop-off points as a result.

With thousands of additional passenger journeys made, Translink added enhanced capacity and frequency across the public transport network, and continued to monitor demand as the event continues.

Among the destinations proving popular were the official Food and Drink Village in the grounds of Belfast Cathedral, bringing together local traders, growers and producers in a vibrant, family‑friendly space. The village was open daily – to 8pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, then from 10am to 11pm on Thursday through to Sunday.

Always a weekend favourite, St George’s Market was open all this week too.

Smithfield Market hours were extended for the festivities, trading until 9pm on Thursday and Friday, along with extra opening hours on Sunday 9 August (1pm-6pm).

Over at the ICC Belfast, the Craic and Craft Market is brought more foodie treats with artisan producers and family entertainment.

Around 100 businesses set up shop along High Street, Bridge Street and Royal Avenue, offering hot food, crafts and souvenirs, while new pop-up hospitality venues and independent cafés, restaurants, bars and food producers were all offering Fleadh taster menus, special promotions, performance spaces for musicians and late‑night snacks and drinks.