Supporting people with disabilities

An accessible and inclusive city

We want to create a more accessible, inclusive city for people with disabilities who live in or visit Belfast. We provide some services at our venues and facilities to meet the physical and communications needs of people with disabilities, including Deaf people. 

Our Disability Action Plan

We developed our Disability Action Plan 2022-2025 to encourage people with disabilities to engage and take part in civic life. There’s more information about the action plan on Disability strategy and action plans page.

Accessible council services

To make the city and our services more accessible, we offer:

• video relay service for people using British Sign Language (BSL) and Irish Sign Language (ISL)
• Sign Language video at the Tropical Ravine
• Sign Language videos at the visitor exhibition in Belfast City Hall
• portable hearing loop systems in City Hall, Belfast Castle (link opens in new window), Malone House (link opens in new window), Roselawn cemetery and Crematorium
• Braille on bins
• Changing Places facility at Belfast City Hall
• Radar key to access disabled toilets
• council information in alternative formats such as Braille and EasyRead
• training for businesses on inclusive tourism.

Belfast City Hall, Belfast Castle, Belfast Zoo and Malone House are Autism Impact Award Champions and accredited as autism-accessible, welcoming environments.

Website accessibility

Our accessibility statement explains what we're doing to improve this website's accessibility. Our website partially complies with WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

Accessible facilities and support at the Fleadh

Belfast is hosting Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, a large annual festival celebrating Irish traditional music, song, and dance, from Sunday 2 to Sunday 9 August 2026. 

More than 800,000 visitors are expected to attend the eight-day event. 

A drop-in Accessibility Hub in CastleCourt Shopping Centre at 63 Royal Avenue (unit 59 on the first floor) is open 11am – 7pm daily until Sunday 9 August.  

This is operated by Open Arts, with support from Volunteer Now volunteers.  

The hub is a welcoming, quiet space and information point, especially for people with disabilities, neurodivergent and D/deaf visitors.  

Sensory supports including ear defenders and fidget tools are available and assistance dogs are welcome. 

Other accessible facilities and support include:

• additional accessible toilets and Changing Places facilities
• sign interpretation and captioning of several events
• seated rest areas
• quiet spaces
• kerb ramps.

You can find accessibility guide videos on the Fleadh Cheoil website (link opens in new window).  

Information on venues and places in Belfast

We work with AccessAble to help people find accessibility information for venues in Belfast. You can search for a venue to check if it can meet your physical and communication needs. To search for information on venues in Belfast, go to AccessAble (link opens in new window).

Disability and support organisations

We work with disability organisations including charities that provide support, advice and information to people with disabilities.

• Mencap (link opens in new window)
• RNIB (link opens in new window)
• RNID (link opens in new window)
• British Deaf Association (link opens in new window)
• Disability Action (link opens in new window)