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Date: 10 August 2026
It’s been a week to remember for Belfast, with Comhaltas Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2026 smashing all expectations, as the city played host to the world’s biggest celebration of Irish music and culture for the first time.
Latest figures from Belfast One Business Improvement District show total recorded footfall of 1,653,999 in the city core from Sunday 2 August to Sunday 9 August – more than doubling the initial 800,000+ visitors anticipated by hosts Belfast City Council, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and Ards CCÉ.
Figures for the same week in Belfast in 2025 show footfall of 874,925 – meaning the Fleadh has boosted footfall activity into the city core by 89%, when compared to the same time last year.
It has also more than doubled the figures achieved by the 2025 Fleadh in Wexford which saw 750,000 people enjoy the eight-day event.
The week overall proved to be a record-breaking one for the city, with public transport use, visitor spend and hotel occupancy rates all performing strongly, thanks to Belfast City Council’s successful bid to host the event back in March 2025.
Saturday proved to be the busiest day of the festival overall, with footfall of 289,560 recorded by six Belfast One BID cameras located across a one square mile radius around City Hall.
The figures made it both the busiest day in the city centre so far this year, as well as the busiest day since current data collection began back in 2018.
Over 1.7 million passenger journeys were also made across Translink’s public transport network over the eight days of the event – more than 620,000 additional journeys, compared to the equivalent period last year, as residents and visitors embraced pre-event advice to leave the car at home and use bus, train and Park and Ride services instead.
Initial figures from Visit Belfast indicate an occupancy rate of 84.6% for the city’s accommodation sector, as visitors flocked to hotels, B&Bs, student accommodation and short-term let options, while the two official Fleadh campsites were at full capacity for the final weekend of the event.
And, while the final economic figures for the Fleadh will take some time to establish, early feedback from hospitality venues shows strong performance throughout the week.
The Fleadh Cheoil website also recorded two million users – 578,000 of those across the week - while 300+ accredited media outlets and journalists helped to generate E13.6 million AVE (Advertising Value Equivalent) among local, national and international audiences in the week leading up to, and during, the event itself.
1,300 volunteers distributed 200,000 what’s on guides and maps to visitors, while over 5,000 competitors took part in 200+ competitions over the final three days of the Fleadh from 22 countries worldwide.
Outside the main competitions, the Fleadh hosted 438 official events, including 107 acts on the main Gig Rig stage alone.
Over 90 venues took part in the official programme overall, including more than 50 in the city’s neighbourhoods, as part of a vibrant fringe festival which took the Fleadh into every corner of the city.