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Date: 24 July 2026
Belfast City Council and partners are working to ensure that every visitor experiences a warm welcome and an inclusive, accessible Fleadh this August.
Accessible facilities and support during the world’s largest annual festival and competition celebrating Irish traditional music, song, and dance, expected to attract more than 800,000 visitors to Belfast over the course of a week, will include additional accessible toilets, Changing Places facilities, sign interpretation and captioning of a number of events, seated rest areas, quiet spaces, kerb ramps, a free shuttle bus and dedicated accessible parking.
Chair of Belfast City Council’s Disability Working Group, Councillor Ruth Brooks, said: “We’re on the world stage this summer thanks to the Fleadh and making sure that everyone can access the fantastic experiences Belfast has to offer is top of our priority list. Our preparations include providing an Accessibility Hub at CastleCourt in partnership with Open Arts, Blue Badge parking provision, a free, fully accessible city centre loop shuttle bus and dedicated accessible viewing space at the Gig Rig at City Hall. Back in February, in partnership with Tourism Northern Ireland, Visit Belfast and Titanic Belfast, we provided a free ‘Embrace the Inclusive Spirit’ practical workshop for Belfast tourism and hospitality businesses on making their services and venues as inclusive as possible, including learning from first-hand experiences of disabled travellers.
“We’ve provided free training and videos on communicating confidently with people who have hearing loss or who are D/deaf, including sign language users, those who are blind or partially sighted, those who are Autistic, have learning disabilities, are wheelchair and mobility scooter users, and those who have a non-visible disability.
“In partnership with Visit Belfast and Tourism NI, we’ve provided vouchers up to £500 to businesses to support improved visitor experiences through everything from staff training and sensory packs to developing more accessible websites and updating signage. And now it’s great to be working in partnership with organisations like Open Arts and Volunteer Now to provide a wraparound, accessible service during the Fleadh.”
A drop-in Accessibility Hub will be available at CastleCourt Shopping Centre at 63 Royal Avenue. Located in unit 59 on the first floor, the Hub will be open from Sunday 2 August to Sunday 9 August, 11am – 7pm daily, operated by leading arts and disability organisation Open Arts, with support from volunteers from Volunteer Now. CastleCourt also offers accessible toilets, lifts, escalators and a Changing Place.
Eileen Branagh, Chief Executive Officer, Open Arts, explains: “We’re looking forward to providing a central, welcoming, calm and quiet space for anyone who needs to pop in for a break from all the excitement of the Fleadh, and especially our Disabled, neurodivergent and D/deaf visitors. We’ll be offering sensory supports, such as ear defenders and fidget tools. Assistance dogs are also welcome in the Hub, and we’ll have water bowls available for them.
“As well as being an information point, providing clear, accessible guidance on Fleadh events, venues and services, the Hub will offer advice on accessibility and wayfinding queries and signposting to relevant support.
“Open Arts will provide communicative and interpretive aids like visual resources, clear signage, sensory supports and printed accessible information where possible. We’ve also worked alongside disabled people to create a range of Access Guides, which are available on the Fleadh website.
“Trained volunteers from Volunteer Now will be on hand at the Hub throughout the Fleadh, briefed by Open Arts on inclusive approaches and how best to support visitors. The Hub is our way of making sure the Fleadh is open and accessible to everyone.”
Those who would like to hire a wheelchair or mobility scooter can do so from ShopMobility, located just behind CastleCourt in Smithfield Market.
There will also be accessible shuttle buses at Fleadh Park & Ride sites (Eikon Exhibition Centre (near M1), Giant’s Park (near M2) and Belfast Harbour (near M3) ) and between campsites at Falls and Ormeau Parks and Titanic Quarter and the city centre. Each Park and Ride site has a designated Blue Badge parking area close to the shuttle pick‑up.
Blue badge holders will be able to park at Dunbar Street (outside Common Market in Cathedral Quarter) and Smithfield (to the rear of CastleCourt) car parks during the event.
Information about Changing Places in Belfast (including Belfast Zoo, CastleCourt, City Hall, Crescent Arts Centre, Lanyon Place Train Station, Ulster Museum and Victoria Square) is available at www.changing-places.org/find There will also be additional temporary portable toilet provision in City Hall grounds, Fountain Lane, Hill Street and Verner Street (beside St George’s Market), with a minimum of two accessible Portaloos at each site. A parent and child changing space will be available in City Hall grounds and on Hill Street, and a mobile Accessoloo changing place toilet will be available at the rear of 2 Royal Avenue in the city centre.
A limited number of free tickets are now live for the accessible viewing area at the Fleadh opening and closing ceremonies on the Gig Rig stage in the grounds of Belfast City Hall via the Fleadh Cheoil website. The dedicated accessible viewing space at the Gig Rig will be unticketed and free to access during the rest of the Fleadh week.
The AccessAble website also provides a wealth of information on accessible venues in Belfast including hotels, visitor attractions, shops, restaurants and bars.