European City of Sport 2026

European City of Sport 2026 candidate

Belfast is hoping to become a European City of Sport in 2026.

We submitted our bid, together with our leisure partners, GLL, in October 2025 and will welcome delegates from ACES Europe to our city in November 2025 as part of their assessment.

ACES Europe award this accolade each year, recognising the best cities, towns and regions across Europe to take part in sport.

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.

If successful, 2026 will see lots of great sports events delivered across the city, as well as increased awareness of how to get involved in different activities city-wide. 

This will include favourites like:

• the Phoenix Energy Belfast City Marathon
• our annual Belfast Primary Schools’ Cross Country Championships
• our try-it events in our community and leisure centres, and
• activities celebrating the contribution of athletes, coaches and volunteers.

We will add more details about our European City of Sport 2026 bid will be added here in November 2025, if we are successful.