Belfast set for ‘biggest ever creative celebration’

Belfast City Council is investing £5.9m to deliver a programme of cultural events and community-led activities billed as the city’s “biggest ever creative and cultural celebration”.

The Belfast 2024 programme will begin in spring and run through the year with a series of workshops, performances and events.

It will be led by 24 large-scale commissions, under a collective theme of People, Place and Planet, 17 of which have been specially commissioned following an open call earlier this year.

Among the signature events in development are a collaboration with the Eden Project, the development of public art installations and a UNSECO City of Music event.

The programme will also feature six international residencies, a community-led Creative Citizens scheme and a music heritage programme.

According to a statement on the council’s website, investment in Belfast 2024 was approved by all political parties earlier this autumn and follows extensive engagement with local cultural, community and arts providers over the last 18 months.

Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy, said the cultural programme “is a hugely ambitious and exciting step forward for Belfast”.

“By investing in the arts in this way, we are creating new opportunities to protect, sustain and develop employment in a sector which is a catalyst for so much of our local economy.”