Fringe at Fleadh
Sunday 2 to Sunday 9 August 2026
The energy of the Fleadh in Belfast will extend beyond the main stages and venues with a fringe festival that brings the city’s rich cultural diversity to life through street animations, art installations and pop‑up performances.
From workshops to talks, heritage trails to family activities, the spirit of Fleadh will stretch across the city centre and into the neighbourhoods. Over 50 official events are planned for north, south, east and west Belfast, animating spaces and engaging with communities before, during and after the Fleadh. Collaborating with more than 300 artists and 60 organisations, neighbourhood-based fringe activities will deliver a programme of music, poetry, drama, visual arts and community events.
City-centre fringe highlights include:
- NI Science Festival will host Neuromusicology, a unique live show looking at the powerful relationship between the human brain and playing the harp.
- Golden Thread Gallery will translate the rhythm and tempo of trad music into a giant collaborative art canvas.
- Beat Carnival will bring their trademark burst of high energy, percussive music to the streets with a special performance
- DJ Paddy will energise the crowd by bringing together beats and bodhráns for the famous Trisco or trad disco, one of several ticketed gigs at the Limelight.
- The MAC will operate as the festival’s Irish language hub, offering a week of language learning, music, art, storytelling and workshops, all delivered in Irish, while the Corn Exchange will host a programme of events promoting Ulster Scots language and tradition.
Neighbourhood fringe highlights include:
- Waterworks Park in North Belfast animated by pop-up music, storytelling and poetry stations around the lake, inspired by the park’s dramatic Cave Hill backdrop.
- Storyteller Alex Campbell celebrating Irish oral traditions in the east with tales of ancient heroes over coffee.
- Colin Glen Forest Park will offer a guided folklore walk in the west helping to discover the hidden stories behind the city’s native trees and plants.
- The Commons will provide a family-friendly venue hosting a series of gigs, sessions and events in south Belfast. From community cinema to céilís, the inclusive environment will include an alcohol-free bar inside and ethnic street-food carts to offer a place of hospitality, diversity and creativity.
Details of the full fringe programme will be announced in the coming weeks.