This year’s Fleadh in Belfast will be “truly historic and unique”, organisers said ahead of the largest celebration of traditional Irish music next week.
Sharon Shannon, Lúnasa and Foy Vance are among the artists headlining the landmark cultural celebration.
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is expected to bring around 800,000 visitors to the city from August 2nd-9th.
It is the first time the annual music festival has been held in Belfast, and only the second time it has been held in Northern Ireland, after Londonderry was the venue in 2013.
The 2026 event is set to be one of the most culturally diverse in its history, with cross-community participation and a celebration of traditions from across Northern Ireland and beyond.
The opening ceremony on Sunday August 2 will fuse trad music with dhol drummers, Indian dancers, flute and pipe bands and Highland dancers.
“Belfast is ready to welcome visitors from far and near for an incredible eight days of celebrating together,” Visit Belfast’s chief executive Gerry Lennon said.
“You can really start to feel the energy as the opening ceremony draws near. I have no doubt this will be a truly historic and unique Fleadh.”
Belfast is the birthplace of singers Van Morrison, Ruby Murray and Brian Kennedy, and the city also shaped the sound of bands Ash and Snow Patrol.
Among the acts at the festival are The Priests Trio Ensemble, Ómós na nUltach, Ebb And Flow and Belfast composer and uilleann piper Neil Martin, who will give a multicultural performance blending Irish tradition with sounds from Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
There will also be language and identity activities, book and album launches and other non-music events as part of what is expected to be one of the largest cultural events hosted in Belfast.
Mr Lennon said: “Belfast is ready, and we can’t wait to welcome the hundreds of thousands of people who will visit our city for this truly spectacular event.
“Belfast is the perfect host city for the Fleadh – compact, walkable and packed with incredible things to see and do.
“This is a city transformed: proud, vibrant and confident, with a well-earned reputation for knowing how to celebrate.
“This is a week-long celebration not to be missed. We’re encouraging everyone to gather family and friends, mark the dates in the diary and start planning now.
“We want visitors to have an unforgettable experience and to come back time and time again because, in answer to the great Van Morrison, it really is like this all the time.”
