European City of Sport 2026

European City of Sport 2026

Belfast has been named a European City of Sport for 2026.

This follows our bid submission, together with our leisure partners, GLL, to ACES – Worldwide Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation.

They award this accolade each year, recognising the best cities, towns and regions across Europe who are celebrating sport and encouraging physical activity.

Our bid reflects ACES’ manifesto pledges – enjoyment in exercise, willingness to achieve, sense of community, learning to play and improvement in health – and focuses on five key themes:

• investment made into sport in Belfast over the last ten years
• support provided to elite athletes
• contribution of our leisure centre staff, local clubs, coaches and volunteers
• ensuring everyone feels welcome and included, and
• how sport is delivering better health outcomes for our residents.

What is happening?

2026 will see lots of great sports events delivered across the city, as well as more work to:

• promote use of our leisure centres
• showcase the variety of sports available in our city
• celebrate the contribution of sports clubs and athletes, and
• highlight how you can get involved.

Get involved

Everyone can be part of this special year.

• Take part in European City of Sport events.
• Join your local leisure centre and enjoy a huge range of activities, with membership options to suit everyone.
• Support your local sports club as a player, supporter or volunteer.
• Celebrate the people who make sport in our city happen by taking part in our Belfast Sports Awards.
• Look out for dedicated programmes and initiatives from us and our partners to help everyone get more active.

Sports clubs and governing bodies

If your club is funded through our Support for Sport scheme, our Sports Development team will contact you directly with information on making your events part of our European City of Sport programme.

We are also working with sports governing bodies to raise awareness of the year and use it as a tool to get more people playing different types of sport. Look out for our branding at events throughout the city during 2026.

Clubs can also sign up to help us with try-it events throughout the year and join our mailing list to keep updated on events, initiatives and funding opportunities.

Make sure to tag your sports events with #BelfastCityofSport too, if sharing content on your social media channels.