Belfast City Council is asking businesses located within the pedestrianised area for the upcoming Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann to plan deliveries and secure access passes now. Temporary road closures and vehicle restrictions will cover a large section of the city centre from 2 to 9 August 2026 to create a safe environment for the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected.

An Accreditation and Logistics Hub will operate around the clock on Duncrue Street throughout the event, co-ordinating all vehicle entry to the zone. The majority of essential deliveries and commercial waste collections will be scheduled overnight between 4am and 8am, with passes required in advance. Online information sessions for businesses are taking place on 6 and 7 July. Councillor Joe Duffy, chair of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee, said the requirement applies to every enterprise inside the zone and urged those unsure to check the map on the council website and attend a session.

The Fleadh, which runs from 2 to 9 August, is the centrepiece of a summer calendar stretching from early July. Stendhal Festival returns to Limavady from 2 to 4 July, while EastSide Arts Festival runs from 24 July to 2 August. The John Hewitt International Summer School in Armagh from 27 to 31 July will explore women’s experiences in history and society. Féile an Phobail, Ireland’s largest community arts festival, takes place from 25 July to 9 August, and Arts Ekta’s Belfast Mela marks its 20th anniversary from 23 to 29 August. August Craft Month lists almost 500 events across the island.

For families, Belfast City Council has organised free Summer Fun Days in parks from 9 July to 20 August, a Summer Rose Fair at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park from 3 to 5 July, and a week-long Explorers’ Club at the zoo for children aged 7 to 11. A separate Teenage Kicks scheme has distributed 11 microgrants to local venues and music organisations to stage dedicated under-18s gigs.

Councillor Jenna Maghie, chair of the People and Communities Committee, said the council aimed to create welcoming spaces so children of all abilities and neurotypes could play together. Recent upgrades at the Musgrave Park Therapy Garden include a wheelchair-accessible roundabout and trampoline, alongside a sensory trail. More than fifty playgrounds have been refurbished since 2012 under the Playground Improvement Programme.

Among gallery highlights, the Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast opens The Ignorant Art School: Outside the Circle x Belfast on 4 July, while VOID Art Centre in Derry presents Animale by Hanna Tuulikki from 4 July to 5 September. The Nerve Centre’s free Outpouring exhibition at Riddel’s Warehouse runs until 5 July. The Ulster Orchestra’s new season opens with a 60th-anniversary performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony featuring young performers from across Northern Ireland.