Digital, ICT and Creative Industries
Belfast has established itself as a prominent UK hub for the digital, ICT, and creative industries. As well as being Europe’s leading FDI destination for new software development, the city is home to a fast-growing creative cluster.
The UK’s Innovation and Knowledge Centre, the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), is located in Queen’s University, Belfast with a mission to help companies commercialise emerging cybersecurity technologies. Northern Ireland is the number one international investment location for US cybersecurity firms.
Innovation City Belfast (link opens in new window) is working to build on these foundations, by creating an Innovation District and establishing Belfast as a globally significant destination for innovation, while our Smart Belfast team collaborates with city partners to harness digital innovation for the city’s common good; making sure we have the conditions in place to maximise the positive impact of technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and robotics through our Smart District.
Creativity is in Belfast’s DNA. A young population and highly skilled workforce ensure there is a wealth of talent available across the film, animation, music, mobile, gaming, and TV subsectors; a diverse and easily accessible supply chain for the creative and digital industries.
Our stunning landscapes mean that Belfast’s reputation as a prime location for film and television production has grown significantly in recent years. Centred around the Titanic Quarter (link opens in new window) and Giant’s Park (link opens in new window), the city is home to major TV and film productions including HBO’s Game of Thrones, Warner Horizon’s Krypton and Paramount Pictures’ Dungeons & Dragons.
Through the Belfast Region City Deal, £25.2 million is being invested in Studio Ulster (link opens in new window), a cutting-edge virtual production studio at Giant’s Park. Opened in 2024, Studio Ulster is a unique, 57,000 square foot virtual production studio complex with world-class commercial stages, supported by an integrated Research and Development centre of excellence for real-time and virtual production. The facility is recognised as one of the world's most advanced, featuring large-scale LED stages, Europe's tallest motion capture stage, and integrated real-time engines for in-camera visual effects. This groundbreaking complex hosts the CoSTAR Screen Lab, part of the UKRI-funded Convergent Screen Technologies and performance in Realtime (CoSTAR) programme. Led by Ulster University with partners including BBC Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen, Belfast Harbour, and Humain Ltd, it drives cutting-edge R&D in areas like in-camera visual effects, motion capture, and AI-driven content creation. This positions Belfast as a global centre of excellence in film, TV, gaming, animation, and immersive media, driving innovation, skills development and economic growth in the creative industries sector.
