Belfast facts for kids

Quick facts for kids City of Belfast Irish: Béal Feirste Ulster Scots: Bilfawst
Capital city, district, and borough
Lagan Weir at Belfast Harbour Stormont Belfast City Hall Belfast Castle Titanic Belfast Botanic Gardens Ulster Museum
Coat of arms
Motto(s):  Latin: Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus, lit. 'what shall we give in return for so much'
Belfast shown within Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Northern Ireland
Incorporated	1 April 2015
Administrative HQ	City Hall
Government
• Type	District council
• Body	Belfast City Council
Area
• Total	51 sq mi (133 km2)
Area rank	11th
Population  (2022)
• Total	348,005
• Rank	1st
• Density	6,780/sq mi (2,617/km2)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas	BT1–17 BT29 (part) BT36 (part) BT58
Dialling codes	028
ISO 3166 code	GB-BFS
GSS code	N09000003

Belfast is the capital city and a major port of Northern Ireland. It sits on the banks of the River Lagan and connects to the sea through Belfast Lough. It is the second-largest city on the island of Ireland, after Dublin. In 2022, about 348,005 people lived in Belfast. Its wider metropolitan area has about 671,559 people.

Belfast was first set up as an English settlement in 1613. It grew quickly with many Scottish Presbyterians moving there. These settlers were not happy with the way things were run in Ireland. This led to a rebellion in 1798 and then to joining with Great Britain in 1800. This union helped the city become an industrial powerhouse.

When Belfast became a city in 1888, it was the world's biggest maker of linen. By the early 1900s, its shipyards were building a huge part of all ships made in the UK.

As the city grew, many Irish Catholics moved there for jobs in factories. This led to tensions between different groups. These tensions caused periods of conflict, especially from the late 1960s onwards, known as The Troubles. During this time, the British Army was often seen on the streets. A lasting sign of this time is the "peace walls" that separate some neighborhoods.

Since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which brought peace, the city's politics have changed. More people are now choosing not to identify with the old traditions.

Belfast has seen a lot of growth in its service industries. This includes fintech (tech for finance), tourism, and film production. The city still has a working port with docks and a smaller Harland & Wolff shipyard. After Brexit, Belfast has a special position, allowing it to trade easily with both the UK and the European Union.

The city has two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport and Belfast International Airport. It also has two universities: Ulster University and Queen's University. In 2021, UNESCO named Belfast a City of Music.

History of Belfast

What does the name Belfast mean?

The name Belfast comes from the Irish words Béal Feirste. This means "Mouth of the Farset". The River Farset had a sandbar or a shallow crossing point where it met the River Lagan. This crossing point, near where Queen's Bridge is today, is where the first settlement grew.

In Ulster-Scots, people sometimes say Bilfawst, Bilfaust, or Baelfawst.

How old is Belfast?

People have lived in the Belfast area since the Bronze Age, thousands of years ago. The Giant's Ring, a 5,000-year-old stone circle, is close by. You can also see remains of Iron Age hill forts in the hills around the city.

In the 1300s, there were two churches in the area. One was the "Chapel of Dundela" in the east, possibly linked to St. Colmcille from the 600s. The other was the "Chapel of the Ford", which might have been a very old church on the Shankill Road, possibly from the 800s or even Saint Patrick's time in the 400s.

The Normans built a settlement at the ford in the late 1100s. It included a church, a watermill, and a small fort. This was an outpost for Carrickfergus Castle, which was the main English base in the northeast for a long time.

How did Belfast become an industrial city?

While other Irish towns lost their factories, Belfast grew very fast from the 1820s. After a short boom in cotton, Belfast became the world leader in making linen goods. This earned it the nickname "Linenopolis". Many women and children worked in the linen mills.

Shipbuilding also grew, becoming a very important industry. By the early 1900s, Belfast's shipyards were building a quarter of all ships in the United Kingdom. This included the famous RMS Titanic, built by Harland & Wolff. When it launched in 1911, it was the largest ship in the world. Other big industries included making textile machines, rope, tobacco, and mineral waters.

The new factories brought many Catholic people from poorer rural areas to Belfast. This large supply of workers helped attract money from England and Scotland. However, it also caused problems. Protestant workers often controlled the skilled jobs and joined groups like the Orange Order. Tensions between different religious groups often led to riots and people being forced out of their jobs. People also argued about whether Ireland should have its own parliament, as Protestants worried about being a minority.

On September 28, 1912, many unionists gathered at Belfast's City Hall. They signed the Ulster Covenant, promising to stop any plan for an Irish parliament. This led to the creation of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a group of 100,000 armed men. World War I stopped this immediate crisis. The UVF later formed the 36th (Ulster) Division, whose sacrifices in the Battle of the Somme are still remembered in the city.

In 1920–22, Belfast became the capital of the six counties that stayed in the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland. This time saw a lot of conflict. Many workers were forced from their jobs, especially Catholics and Protestants who didn't follow the usual divisions. There were gun battles, grenade attacks, and house burnings, leading to about 500 deaths. A curfew was in place until 1924. This period helped to solidify the divisions in the city.

In 1932, the new Northern Ireland Parliament buildings opened at Stormont. This was met with protests from unemployed people and street fights with the police. The government did agree to increase help for the poor. However, unity among workers did not last. In 1935, celebrations led to more riots and expulsions, showing how deep the divisions were.

By 1938, nearly a third of factory workers were unemployed. Many people suffered from malnutrition. The city's infant mortality rate was very high, showing poor health conditions.

What happened during World War II?

In spring 1941, German planes attacked Belfast twice. This was known as the Belfast Blitz. The attacks badly damaged or destroyed more than half of the city's homes. The old city centre was also devastated. More than a thousand people died, making it the worst air raid outside of London.

After World War II, the government started programs to clear "slums". This meant moving people from old, crowded houses into new housing estates on the edge of the city. At the same time, a new welfare state improved access to education and healthcare. People's expectations rose, but the decline of Belfast's old industries caused uncertainty. This led to more protests in the 1960s about civil rights.

What were The Troubles?

The protests of the late 1960s soon turned into conflict between different groups. This period is known as The Troubles. Many people were forced to leave their homes. In August 1969, the British Army was sent to the streets. They stayed for a very long time, trying to keep the peace.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) carried out bombings in Belfast's city centre. They saw their actions as a fight against British control.

In 1998, the "Good Friday" Belfast Agreement brought peace. It created a new power-sharing government for Northern Ireland at Stormont. During The Troubles, about 20,000 people were injured and 1,500 killed in Belfast.

Most of the deaths happened near the "interfaces" or dividing lines, mainly in the north and west of the city. The security barriers built at these places are still there today. In 2013, the government promised to remove all peace lines by agreement. However, only a few have been taken down so far.

The city centre was a big target for bombings, especially in the early 1970s. Between 1969 and 1977, there were 2,280 explosions, including car bombs. These attacks caused deaths and injuries and destroyed many old buildings.

Belfast in the 21st century

Since 2000, more jobs and people have returned to the city centre. This is because of the growth of the service economy. A new area called the Titanic Quarter has been built on old dockland. Tourism has also grown, and surprisingly, the murals and peace walls that remind people of the past are now tourist attractions.

The city's population has also changed. More immigrants have arrived, and a growing number of younger people do not identify with the traditional divisions.

In 1997, for the first time, unionists lost overall control of Belfast City Council. In 2011, Irish nationalist councillors outnumbered unionist councillors.

In the 2016 Brexit referendum, most people in Belfast voted to stay in the European Union. Northern Ireland as a whole also voted to stay. After Brexit, the Northern Ireland Protocol and Windsor Framework were agreed. These mean Belfast and Northern Ireland can trade freely with both the UK and the European Single Market. This is seen as a great opportunity for businesses.

Cityscape

Where is Belfast located?

Belfast is at the mouth of the River Lagan, at the top of Belfast Lough. This connects to the Irish Sea and the North Atlantic. In the 1800s, the area was changed a lot. The lough was dredged to make a deep-sea port and large shipyards. The River Lagan was also changed, and its smaller rivers were put into underground pipes. Some of these hidden rivers are now being considered for "daylighting," meaning they could be brought back to the surface.

Much of the city centre is built on soft ground, which makes building tall buildings difficult. The city centre is also at risk of flooding from tides. Rising sea levels could mean more frequent flooding in the future without big investments.

The city is surrounded by hills. To the north and northwest are the steep basalt cliffs of Divis Mountain, Black Mountain, and Cavehill. These "heathery slopes" can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. To the south and southeast are the lower Castlereagh and Hollywood hills.

North Belfast and Shankill

From 1820, Belfast started to grow quickly. To the north, it spread along roads that brought people from County Antrim into the city. These areas, mostly Presbyterian, surrounded some Catholic areas like New Lodge, Ardoyne, and "the Marrowbone". These are located between Protestant working-class areas like Tiger's Bay and the Shankill Road.

The Greater Shankill area is separated from the rest of West Belfast by many "peace walls". These walls, some as high as 45 feet, are much taller than the Berlin Wall and have been there for twice as long. They have gates that open during the day to allow passage to the Falls area.

Like other working-class areas, Shankill suffered from the decline of old industries. It was also greatly affected by "slum clearance" programs from the 1960s. Old terraced streets were replaced with flats and car parks, but not many new facilities. This led to many residents leaving the area.

New housing estates were built on the city's outer edges. However, The Troubles made it hard to create "mixed" neighborhoods. So, large developments like Rathcoole quickly became loyalist communities. In 2004, it was estimated that 98% of public housing in Belfast was divided by religion.

Important landmarks in North Belfast include Crumlin Road Gaol (now a visitor attraction), Belfast Royal Academy (the city's oldest school), St Malachy's College, Holy Cross Church, Ardoyne, Waterworks Park], and Belfast Zoo.

West Belfast

In the mid-1800s, poverty and famine in the countryside caused many Catholic farmers and laborers to move to Belfast. They came down the Falls Road and settled in areas around St Mary's Church, the city's first Catholic chapel. Eventually, a whole west side of the city, stretching up the Falls Road and out past Andersonstown, became almost entirely Catholic.

Many of these new residents worked in mills, as domestics, or in shops. New opportunities for women came with developments in education and public health. St Mary's Teacher Training College opened in 1900, and the Royal Victoria Hospital opened in 1903. The hospital has grown a lot and now has over 8,500 staff.

Landmarks in this area include the Gothic-style St Peter's Cathedral, Clonard Monastery, the Conway Mill (now a community and arts centre), Belfast City Cemetery, and Milltown Cemetery, known for its republican graves.

The area's most famous attractions are its wall murals. Unlike loyalist murals, which often focus on local conflict, these murals show solidarity with people from other countries, like Palestinians, Cuba, and Basque and Catalan separatists.

South Belfast

West Belfast is separated from South Belfast by railway lines, the M1 Motorway, industrial parks, and the remains of the Blackstaff bog meadows.

Belfast began to expand southwards in the 1840s and 50s, along the Ormeau and Lisburn roads, and the higher ground of the Malone Road. This area developed into leafy streets with large houses.

Further out, the big estates of former mill owners were turned into public housing, like the loyalist estates of Seymour Hill and Belvoir. Meanwhile, new houses and apartments have been built in Malone, making the area more densely populated.

Beyond the Queen's University area, key landmarks include the 15-story Belfast City Hospital tower and the Lagan Valley Regional Park. This park has a towpath that goes from the city centre to Lisburn.

Northern Ireland's three permanent diplomatic missions (consulates for China, Poland, and the United States) are located on the Malone Road.

East Belfast

Ballymacarrett was the first area on the east side of the River Lagan to become part of Belfast, after 1868. Harland & Wolff, with its huge Samson & Goliath cranes, was the main employer here for a long time. However, jobs were less secure for Catholics in the area. They mostly lived in a small area called the Short Strand, which has often been a place of tension. It is the only distinctly nationalist area in East Belfast.

East Belfast grew from the Queens Bridge and Albert Bridge, spreading east along the Newtownards Road and north along the Holywood Road. The further out you go, the larger and less religiously segregated the houses become, until you reach the outer public housing estates like loyalist Knocknagoney and Lisnasharragh.

In this century, efforts have been made to add to East Belfast's attractions. These include the Samson & Goliath cranes and the Parliament Buildings at Stormont. The area now marketed as EastSide features CS Lewis Square (2017), named after the famous author of The Chronicles of Narnia. Near the old Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices (now a hotel) is Titanic'' Belfast (2012), an interactive museum about the famous ship.

City Centre

Belfast City Centre is generally surrounded by the ring roads built since the 1970s. These include the M3 to the north, the Westlink connecting to the M1 to the south and west, and other roads that link back to the Lagan. This area also includes "the Markets," the last inner-city housing area. Only one market remains, St George's, which is now a popular food and craft market.

Old Buildings and Architecture

Some older parts of Belfast still exist. The Belfast Entries are 17th-century alleyways off High Street. White's Tavern, rebuilt in 1790, is in Winecellar Entry. Other old buildings include the First Presbyterian Church (1781–83) in Rosemary Street, the Assembly Rooms (1769, 1776, 1845) on Bridge Street, and St George's Church of Ireland (1816) on High Street. St Mary's Church (1782) in Chapel Lane is the oldest Catholic church.

The oldest public building in Belfast is Clifton House (1771–74), which was a poorhouse. It is now partly cut off from the city centre by main roads. There are also some small Georgian terraces in the city centre.

Many buildings from the Victorian era have survived the Belfast Blitz, The Troubles, and new developments. Some notable examples include St Malachy's Roman Catholic Church (1844) and the original building of Queen's University Belfast (1849), both in a Tudor style. The Palm House in the Botanic Gardens (1852) is also famous.

Other beautiful buildings include the Renaissance revival Union Theological College (1853) and Ulster Bank (now Merchant Hotel) (1860). The Italianate Ulster Hall (1862) and the ornate Crown Liquor Saloon (1885, 1898) are also well-known. The Grand Opera House (1895) has an oriental theme. St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Donegall Street (1877) is in a Romanesque style.

The Baroque revival City Hall was finished in 1906. It was built to show off Belfast's city status, which Queen Victoria granted in 1888. Its Edwardian design influenced buildings in India and South Africa. The dome is 173 feet high.

Nearby is the Scottish Provident Institution (1902), also in Renaissance and Baroque styles. Across the street, a branch of the Ulster Bank is built behind the classical facade of a former Methodist church from 1846.

St Anne's Church of Ireland Cathedral was consecrated in 1904 and finished in the 1920s. Its steel spire was added in 2007. The neoclassical Royal Courts of Justice opened in 1933.

New Developments

The opening of Victoria Square Shopping Centre in 2008 was a sign of the city centre's recovery after The Troubles. However, fewer people visit the city centre shops now because of competition from out-of-town shopping centres and online shopping. But tourism and hotels are growing.

The City Council also wants to build more homes in the city. New townhouses and apartments are being built on the city's quays and in the Titanic Quarter. Ulster University has also expanded its Belfast campus, bringing many more students and staff into the city.

Some people sleep rough on the streets of the city centre. While the numbers are growing, they are still relatively small for a city of Belfast's size. Many more people are considered homeless, living in temporary housing or shelters.

The "Quarters"

Since 2001, Belfast has promoted several cultural "quarters" to attract tourists.

The Cathedral Quarter is the old trade and warehouse area around St Anne's Cathedral. It has many bars, restaurants, and performance spaces. It hosts a yearly arts festival. Custom House Square is a main outdoor venue for concerts.

The Gaeltacht Quarter is the area around the Falls Road in West Belfast where Irish-speaking people live. It includes the Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich cultural centre. A project called Turas in East Belfast also promotes the Irish language, believing it belongs to everyone.

The Linen Quarter is an area south of City Hall that used to have linen warehouses. Now it has many cafes, bars, restaurants, and hotels. It also has the city's two main Victorian-era cultural venues: the Grand Opera House and the Ulster Hall.

Further south, along the "Golden Mile" of bars and clubs, is the Queen's [University] Quarter. Besides the university, it is home to Botanic Gardens and the Ulster Museum.

Finally, the Titanic Quarter is a large area of reclaimed land next to Belfast Harbour. It is named after RMS Titanic, which was launched here in 1911. This area now has Titanic'' Belfast (a visitor attraction), the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), hotels, apartments, shops, and the Titanic Film Studios.

Culture

Arts and Festivals

Belfast has many cultural places that have been around for a long time. These include Clifton House (1774), the Linen Hall Library (1788), the Ulster Museum (1833), and the Botanic Gardens (1828). These are still important places for culture today. The Botanic Gardens host outdoor events, like the Belfast Melā, which celebrates global cultures.

Some old theatres and cinemas are still used. The Ulster Hall (1862) hosts concerts and political meetings. The Grand Opera House (1895) was damaged by bombs but has been restored. The Strand Cinema (1935) is becoming an arts centre, and the Queens Film Theatre (1968) shows art house films. These cinemas also host the Belfast Film Festival and the Belfast International Arts Festival.

The main theatre for plays is the Lyric Theatre (1951). At Queens University, drama students perform at the Brian Friel Theatre.

In 2011, Belfast hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards. This was possible because of the 11,000-seat Odyssey Arena (now the SSE Arena), which opened in 2000. Another large venue is the Waterfront Hall, which opened in 1997. The Metropolitan Arts Centre, or MAC, opened in 2012 in the Cathedral Quarter. It offers music, theatre, dance, and visual art.

The city has many community arts centres, like the Crescent Arts Centre, the Irish-language Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, The Duncairn, and EastSide Arts.

Féile an Phobail is a community arts group that puts on one of Europe's largest community festivals. It started in West Belfast and now has events all year round.

UNESCO City of Music

In November 2021, Belfast became a UNESCO City of Music. It is one of 59 cities worldwide in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Most of Belfast's music scene is found in its pubs and clubs. Irish traditional music is very popular. The city also has a TradFest summer school for traditional music.

Belfast's music also includes punk and underground club scenes that grew during The Troubles. Bands like Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones were part of this. The Oh Yeah music centre was set up in 2008 to support young musicians in various genres.

Queens University has the Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC), which focuses on music research. It has special studios opened by the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen in 2004.

Media

Belfast is home to several newspapers: the Belfast Telegraph, Irish News, and The News Letter, which is the oldest English-language daily newspaper still being published.

The city is also the headquarters for BBC Northern Ireland and the ITV station UTV. The Irish public broadcaster, RTÉ, has a studio in Belfast. The main radio station is BBC Radio Ulster. There are also commercial stations like Q Radio, U105, Blast 106, and the Irish-language station Raidió Fáilte. Queen's Radio is a student-run station from Queen's University Students' Union.

One of Northern Ireland's community TV stations, NvTv, is based in the Cathedral Quarter.

Parades

Since 1872, Orange parades have been a regular part of Belfast life. These parades celebrate "the Twelfth" (July 12th) and the bonfires on the evening before. On July 12th, which is a public holiday, Orange lodges and their bands march through the city centre to a gathering point. While some smaller marches have caused problems in the past, recent events have generally been peaceful.

In 2015, the Orange Order opened the Museum of Orange Heritage in East Belfast. Its goal is to teach people about the history and meaning of these parades.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, a smaller Catholic group, holds its parades in nationalist areas of West and North Belfast. Republicans also hold parades to remember the Easter Rising. In 1993, a parade marking the start of internment in 1971 marched through the city centre, a first for nationalists.

Since 1998, Belfast City Council has funded a St. Patrick's Day (March 17) celebration in the city centre. It is organized by Féile an Phobail as a "carnival" with a parade, dancers, and floats. Some unionists feel this has become too nationalist and avoid the city centre on this day.

In 1991, Belfast held its first gay pride event. Belfast Pride, which ends with a city-centre parade in late July, is now one of the biggest annual festivals in the city and the largest LGBT+ festival in Ireland.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions organizes an annual May Day march and rally in the city centre. May Day has been a public holiday since 1978.

Demography

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1757	8,549	—
1782	13,105	+1.72%
1791	18,320	+3.79%
1806	22,095	+1.26%
1821	37,277	+3.55%
1831	53,287	+3.64%
1841	75,308	+3.52%
1851	97,784	+2.65%
1861	119,393	+2.02%
1871	174,412	+3.86%
1881	208,122	+1.78%
1891	255,950	+2.09%
1901	349,180	+3.15%
1911	386,947	+1.03%
1926	415,151	+0.47%
1937	438,086	+0.49%
1951	443,671	+0.09%
1961	415,856	−0.65%
1966	398,405	−0.85%
1971	362,082	−1.89%
1981	314,270	−1.41%
1991	279,237	−1.17%
2001	277,391	−0.07%
2006	267,374	−0.73%
2011	280,138	+0.94%
2021	293,298	+0.46%
2021 figure is for the city within its pre-2015 local government boundaries.

In 2021, Belfast had 345,418 residents within its city limits. The wider Belfast Metropolitan Area had 634,600 people. This is about one-third of Northern Ireland's total population.

Like many cities, Belfast's inner city has more older people, students, and young single people. Families tend to live on the edges of the city. Some areas in the north and west of the city have higher levels of poverty. These areas, like Falls Road, Ardoyne, New Lodge (Catholic nationalist), and Shankill Road (Protestant loyalist), remain very separate, with most residents belonging to one religious group.

National Identity of Belfast City residents (2021)
Nationality			Per cent
Irish			39.4%
British			37.0%
Northern Irish			27.5%

The number of Protestants in the city has been decreasing, while the number of Catholics and people with no religion has increased. In 2021, 43% of residents were Catholic, 12% Presbyterian, 8% Church of Ireland, 3% Methodist, 6% other Christian, 3% other religions, and 24% had no religion or didn't state one.

When asked about their community background, 47.93% were Catholic, and 36.45% were Protestant or other Christian.

People could choose more than one national identity in 2021. The largest group was "Irish only" (35%), followed by "British only" (27%), and "Northern Irish only" (17%).

Regarding languages, in 2021, 14.93% of people in Belfast said they knew some Irish. 5.21% could speak, read, write, and understand spoken Irish. 3.74% used Irish daily. For Ulster Scots, 7.17% had some knowledge, and 0.75% could speak, read, write, and understand it. 0.83% used Ulster Scots daily.

In the 1800s, Belfast had communities of Jews and Italians. Today, the largest immigrant groups are Poles, Chinese, and Indians. In 2011, 6.6% of the population was born outside the UK and Ireland. By 2021, this had risen to 9.8%. Most Muslims and Hindu families in Northern Ireland live in the Greater Belfast area.

• The Belfast City Council area in the 2011 census
• .

  Percentage Catholic or brought up Catholic

• .

  Most commonly stated national identity

• .

  Percentage born outside the UK and Ireland

Economy

Jobs in Belfast

Most jobs in Belfast (three-quarters) are in services, like retail, health, and professional work. Only 6% of jobs are in manufacturing. The rest are in distribution and construction. Recently, unemployment has been low in Belfast compared to the rest of the UK. However, many people (almost 30%) are not working, including homemakers, carers, students, and retirees. A large number of people in Belfast (27%) have long-term health problems or disabilities, which can make it harder for them to find work.

Shipbuilding, Aerospace, and Defence

Very little remains of Belfast's old Victorian industries. The last linen factory closed in 2013. Harland & Wolff, which once employed 35,000 people, now has a much smaller workforce. They mostly refurbish oil rigs and build parts for offshore wind turbines. A new contract for the Royal Navy means they will start building ships again in 2025.

In 1936, Short & Harland Ltd. started making aircraft in the docks area. This company was later sold to Bombardier and then to Spirit AeroSystems. It is still the largest manufacturing company in Northern Ireland.

Thales Group also has a company in Belfast, Thales Air Defence Limited. It makes missiles, including the NLAW system used in Ukraine.

Fintech and Cybersecurity

Since the 1990s, Belfast has become an important place for call centres and other office services. It has attracted big US companies like Citi and Allstate. The UK Treasury now calls Belfast a "key fintech [financial technology] hub". Fintech involves areas like artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data.

To help with cybersecurity, Queens University has the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (IECIT) and its Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT). These centres help companies develop new cybersecurity solutions.

Film Industry

Between 2018 and 2023, film and TV production in Belfast brought £330 million to Northern Ireland's economy. There are two large media complexes in the port area: the Titanic Studios and the Belfast Harbour Studios. They offer a lot of studio space and have attracted major US production companies like Amazon and HBO (which filmed all eight series of Game of Thrones here).

In 2024, Ulster University, Belfast Harbour, and Northern Ireland Screen announced a £72 million investment to build a new virtual production facility called Studio Ulster.

Tourism and Hospitality

Since the 1990s, peace in Northern Ireland has led to more investment and a big redevelopment of Belfast city centre. Important projects include Victoria Square shopping centre, the Cathedral Quarter, Laganside with the Odyssey complex, the Waterfront Hall, and the new Titanic Quarter with its Titanic'' Belfast visitor attraction. The old Short's airfield was also developed into George Best Belfast City Airport.

These developments have led to a boom in tourism. Between 2011 and 2018, 32 million people visited Belfast. Many new hotels have been built. In 1999, the port welcomed its first cruise ship. In 2023, Belfast had 153 cruise ship visits, bringing 320,000 passengers.

"Conflict tourism" has also grown, where visitors see the murals and peace walls. Some people worry that this makes the city's divisions a spectacle. However, tourist guides say that other attractions and the city's food and nightlife are the main draws.

EU/GB Trade

Invest NI, Northern Ireland's economic agency, promotes Belfast to foreign investors. They say it's the "only region in the world able to trade goods freely with both GB and EU markets". This is due to the 2020 Northern Ireland Protocol and the 2023 Windsor Framework. These agreements mean Northern Ireland stays in the European Single Market for goods while also having access to the British market. Local business leaders generally like this new trade system.

In February 2024, the DUP agreed to restart the government in Stormont. This was based on the understanding that there would be no routine checks on most goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland ports like Belfast.

Education

Schools in Belfast

Children from Catholic and Protestant families in Belfast are mostly taught in separate schools. This system has been in place since the mid-1800s. Primary and secondary schools are divided into (Catholic) Maintained Schools and (non-Catholic/Protestant) Controlled Schools. They follow the same curriculum, but their teachers are trained separately.

Since the 1980s, two smaller types of schools have appeared: Integrated schools, which bring children and staff from both communities together, and Irish language medium schools.

The Belfast Academical Institution, opened in 1810, aimed to be "perfectly unbiased by religious distinctions." However, in practice, it mostly taught Presbyterian families. Anglicans preferred the older Belfast Royal Academy (1785). Catholics went to St Malachy's college (1833), and Wesleyans went to Methodist College Belfast (1865).

Today, the lines between denominations are less strict, with more Catholics attending controlled grammar schools. Belfast has 18 selective grammar schools. This is different from other UK cities, where academic selection was stopped in the 1960s and 70s. Some grammar schools are now reviewing this practice.

The Education Authority for Northern Ireland is responsible for 156 primary and 48 secondary schools in Belfast. There are big differences in how well students do. About 30% of school leavers in the city do not get 5 good GCSEs. For those who receive free school meals, this figure is over 50%.

Colleges and Universities

Belfast Metropolitan College ("Belfast Met") is a further education college with three main campuses. It focuses on vocational education. It has over 53,000 students, making it one of the largest colleges in the UK and the biggest in Ireland.

Belfast has two universities. Queen's University Belfast was founded as a college in 1845. In 1908, it became a university. It is part of the Russell Group, which includes 24 top research universities in the UK. Queen's is one of the largest universities in the UK, with over 25,000 students, including more than 4,000 international students.

Ulster University was created in its current form in 1984. Its Belfast campus has been greatly expanded since 2021. This project will bring 15,500 staff and students into the city and create 5,000 new jobs.

Governance

Belfast was given borough status in 1613 and official city status in 1888. Since 1973, it has been a local government district managed by Belfast City Council.

Belfast has been represented in the British House of Commons since 1801. It has also been represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly since 1998.

Elections

As Northern Ireland's capital, Belfast hosts the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont. Belfast is divided into four areas for elections: Belfast North, Belfast West, Belfast South, and Belfast East. Each area elects one MP to the UK Parliament in Westminster. For the NI Assembly, each area elects five MLAs to Stormont.

In the 2022 Assembly elections, Belfast elected 7 Sinn Féin, 5 DUP, 5 Alliance Party, 1 SDLP, 1 UUP, and 1 PBPA MLAs. In the 2019 and 2024 UK general elections, the DUP won only Belfast East.

For future elections, the areas are being redrawn. For example, Belfast South will become Belfast South and Mid Down.

Infrastructure

Hospitals

The Belfast Health & Social Care Trust manages hospitals in the city. Belfast has most of Northern Ireland's special medical centres.

The Royal Hospitals site in West Belfast has two hospitals. The Royal Victoria Hospital provides general and specialized services, including heart surgery and trauma care. The Children's Hospital (Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children) provides general care for children and most children's specialities.

The Belfast City Hospital on the Lisburn Road is a regional centre for blood disorders and a major cancer centre. It also has the kidney transplant centre for Northern Ireland. Musgrave Park Hospital in South Belfast specializes in bone, joint, and muscle problems, sports medicine, and rehabilitation. It has Northern Ireland's first unit for acquired brain injuries.

The Mater Hospital on the Crumlin Road provides many services, including emergency and maternity care, for North Belfast.

The Ulster Hospital, on the eastern edge of the city, is a major hospital for the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. It provides a full range of medical and surgical services.

Transport

Belfast relies quite a lot on cars. It has a large road network, including the M2 and M22 motorways.

Black taxis are common and sometimes operate like shared taxis. There are also many private hire taxis. Buses and trains are run by Translink. Buses in the city are run by Translink Metro, connecting homes to the city centre.

Longer distance buses are run by Ulsterbus. Northern Ireland Railways provides local train services along three lines. These go to Carrickfergus, Larne, Bangor, Lisburn, and Portadown. Belfast also has a direct train connection to Dublin called Enterprise.

In 2024, the city's Europa Bus Centre and Great Victoria Street rail station were replaced by a new Belfast Central Station. It is the largest combined transport facility in Ireland, with bus stands, train platforms, and taxi and bike facilities.

Belfast has two airports. George Best Belfast City Airport is close to the city centre. Belfast International Airport is about 15 miles west. Both have flights to the UK and Europe. Dublin Airport, two hours south, also serves Belfast with international connections.

Belfast Port handles a lot of cargo. It also offers car-ferry trips. Stena Line operates daily sailings to Cairnryan in Scotland and weekly sailings to Liverpool. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company offers a seasonal connection to Douglas, Isle of Man.

The Glider bus service is a new type of transport in Belfast. Launched in 2018, it is a fast bus system connecting East Belfast, West Belfast, and the Titanic Quarter with the City Centre. It has been very popular and is helping to modernize the city's public transport.

National Cycle Route 9 to Newry starts in Belfast. It will eventually connect to Dublin.

Utilities

Half of Belfast's water comes from the Aquarius pipeline from the Silent Valley Reservoir in County Down. The other half comes from Lough Neagh. People in Belfast pay for their water through their rates bill.

Electricity is provided by NIE Networks Limited. Almost half of Northern Ireland's electricity comes from renewable sources. Phoenix Natural Gas Ltd. started supplying natural gas to Belfast in 1996.

Recreation and Sports

Leisure Centres

Belfast City Council owns and looks after 17 leisure centres. These are run by GLL under the 'Better' brand. Eight of these are large centres with swimming pools. These include Ballysillan and Grove in North Belfast, Andersonstown, Falls, Shankill, and Whiterock in West Belfast, Templemore Baths and Lisnasharragh in East Belfast, and Olympia Leisure Centre in South Belfast.

Parks and Gardens

Belfast has over forty parks. The oldest (1828) and most popular is Botanic Gardens in the Queen's Quarter. Its Palm House, built in the 1830s, is an early example of a glasshouse made with curved iron. Other attractions include the restored Tropical Ravine, rose gardens, and public events.

The largest park, closest to the city centre, is Ormeau Park. It opened in 1871 and used to be part of the Chichester family's estate.

In North Belfast, the Waterworks are two reservoirs that have been open to the public since 1897. They are now a park for fishing and watching birds. Victoria Park opened in 1906 near the docks. It is now connected through East Belfast by the Connswater Community Greenway, a 16 km path for cycling and walking.

The largest green area within the city is the Lagan Valley Regional Park. It's a mix of parks, woodlands, and meadows along the Lagan river and canal. It includes Belvoir Park Forest, with old oak trees and a 12th-century Norman fort, and Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park, famous for its International Rose Garden.

Colin Glenn Forest Park, the National Trust Divis and Black Mountain Ridge Trail, and Cave Hill Country Park offer amazing views over Belfast. The National Trust Lisnabreeny Cregagh Glen offers similar views from the east.

Below Cave Hill, Belfast Zoo is one of the few local government-funded zoos in the British Isles. It has over 1,200 animals of 140 species, including Asian elephants, Barbary lions, and Malayan sun bears. The zoo does important work to help save endangered species.

Sports

Belfast has many sports teams playing football, Gaelic games, rugby, cricket, and ice hockey. The Belfast Marathon is run every year on May Day. In 2023, 15,000 people took part in the marathon and related events.

The Northern Ireland national football team plays its home games at Windsor Park. Football clubs in the city include Linfield, Glentoran, Crusaders, and Cliftonville.

Belfast has over twenty Gaelic football and hurling clubs. Casement Park in West Belfast, home to the Antrim county teams, used to be the second-largest Gaelic Athletic Association ground in Ulster. There are plans to rebuild it, and it is listed as a venue for the UEFA Euro 2028 bid. In 2020, East Belfast GAA was founded, bringing Gaelic Games back to East Belfast.

The 1999 Heineken Cup champions Ulster Rugby play at Ravenhill Stadium in the south of the city. Belfast has four teams in rugby's All-Ireland League.

Belfast is home to the Stormont cricket ground and hosted the Irish cricket team's first ever One Day International against England in 2006.

The 9,500-seat SSE Arena is home to the Belfast Giants, one of the biggest ice hockey clubs in the UK. They play in the British Elite Ice Hockey League.

Belfast was the hometown of George Best, a famous Manchester United player who won the European Footballer of the Year award in 1968. He died in 2005, and 100,000 people lined the streets for his funeral. The City Airport is named after him. Other famous sportspeople from Belfast include snooker champion Alex Higgins and world champion boxers Wayne McCullough, Rinty Monaghan, and Carl Frampton.

Climate

Belfast is in the north, so it has short winter days and long summer evenings. In winter, the sun sets before 4 PM. In summer, it sets after 10 PM.

Thanks to the Gulf Stream, Belfast has a mild climate. In summer, temperatures rarely go above 25°C (77°F). In winter, they rarely drop below -5°C (23°F). The city gets a good amount of rain, with more than 1 mm of rain on 157 days a year. The average yearly rainfall is 846 mm (33.3 inches). This is less than parts of northern England or Scotland, but more than Dublin.

Belfast's climate is called a temperate oceanic climate, which is common in northwest Europe.

Belfast in Fiction

• John Greer Ervine, The Wayward Man (1927)
• F. L. Green, Odd Man Out (1945), which became the 1947 film Odd Man Out
• Brian Moore, The Emperor of Ice Cream (1965)
• Maurice Leitch, Silver's City (1981)
• Bernard MacLaverty, Cal (1983)
• Robert McLiam Wilson, Eureka Street (1996)
• Lucy Caldwell, Where They Were Missed (2005)
• Anna Burns, Milkman (2018)
• Louise Kennedy, Trespasses (2022)
• Michael Magee, Close to Home (2023)

Famous People from Belfast

Twin Towns – Sister Cities

Belfast is twinned with these cities:

• Nashville, Tennessee, United States (since 1994)
• Hefei, Anhui Province, China (since 2005)
• Boston, Massachusetts, United States (since 2014)
• Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China (since 2016)
• Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Freedom of the City

These people have received the Freedom of the City of Belfast:

• Sir Kenneth Branagh: 2018
• Andrew Carnegie: 1910
• Sir Winston Churchill: 1955
• Bill Clinton, 2018
• Sir Sir Robert Hart, 1908
• John Hewitt: 1983
• Sir John Jordan: 1910
• Michael Longley: 2015
• George J. Mitchell, 2018
• Nurses of Belfast, 2015
• Royal Ulster Constabulary and Reserve: 1980
• William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie: 1898 (first person to receive it)

Images for kids

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  A 1685 plan of Belfast by Thomas Phillips. It shows the town's walls and Lord Chichester's castle, which burned down in 1708.

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  High Street, Belfast, around 1906.

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  Aftermath of the Blitz in May 1941.

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  Satellite image of Belfast with Lough.

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  Belfast Charitable Society, Clifton House, 1774.

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  Scottish Provident Institution, 1902.

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  St Anne's Cathedral.

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  Aerial view of Belfast (2004).

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  Samson and Goliath, Harland & Wolff's gantry cranes.

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  Broadcasting House, Belfast, headquarters of the BBC in Northern Ireland.

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  The former station Great Victoria Street on Northern Ireland Railways.

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  George Best Belfast City Airport.

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  Silent Valley Reservoir, showing the brick-built overflow.

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  Irish Football Association stadium Windsor Park.

See also

In Spanish: Belfast para niños