Belsonic 2026, 2027 and 2028 - Dates and origin

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Belsonic dates

The annual music festival, Belsonic, takes place on the following dates:

• from Friday, 12th June to Wednesday, 1st July 2026
• in June 2027
• in June 2028

Belsonic spans over a few weeks in June every year, where the evenings are filled with music performed by local and international bands.

Origins

Belsonic¹ is an annual outdoor music festival held in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Over the years it has grown from a modest three-day city-centre event into one of the country’s most prominent summer music highlights.

The success of the event is tied closely to Belfast’s broader musical heritage. The city has historically produced influential musicians and a lively local music scene. However, during Northern Ireland’s Troubles period², touring acts were less likely to visit. Belsonic’s emergence in the 2000s reflected a cultural shift toward greater confidence in Belfast’s live entertainment infrastructure, helping to normalise international touring dates for large crowds.

First founded in 2008, by Shine Productions Ltd³, a local entertainment company with roots in Belfast’s nightlife and live music scene, the festival has become known for attracting big international names across rock, pop, electronic and dance genres, while also boosting Belfast’s cultural profile and local economy.

Shine’s founder, Alan Simms, had previously made a significant impact on the city’s music culture through his successful club ventures, particularly Shine Nightclub. This was a key venue for electronic music in Belfast during the 1990s and early 2000s and to this day is still held in the Mandela hall⁴, part of Queen’s University Students’ Union.

The first Belsonic festival

The inaugural Belsonic took place in August 2008 at Custom House Square⁵, a public open space in Belfast’s city centre. It was originally a three-day series of concerts aimed at showcasing major live acts and transforming the summer into a celebration of music in the heart of the city. Early line-ups featured a mixture of international and British rock and indie artists, providing local audiences with opportunities to see big touring acts without leaving Northern Ireland.

Some of the first acts to perform included multi-Platinum selling, and Grammy Award winning, U.S. alternative rock band The Flaming Lips, supported by Oppenheimer, an indie pop band, Jape, an Irish electronic–rock band and Mogwai, a Scottish rock band.

Quickly proving a popular event, the festival expanded in duration and ambition over the next few seasons. From 2009 to 2015, it ran for over a week and featured a more club-oriented lineup, with headliners including major electronic and rock performers such as David Guetta, Tiësto, Plan B, Elbow and Beady Eye, and Dizzee Rascal. This mix of music genres drew a wider audience from around the region.

New locations and dates

In 2016, due to the growing popularity of the festival and the need for better facilities to match the growing demand for tickets and bigger headline acts, the event was moved to Titanic Belfast – The Slipways⁶. The date of the festival also shifted from August to June to better fit summer touring schedules⁷.

In 2017, Belsonic found a more permanent home at Ormeau Park⁸, one of Belfast’s largest and oldest public parks. This move allowed for a multi-week series of concerts, each night featuring a headline act. The open, green setting offered a festival atmosphere distinct from the original city-centre arena and marked a new era in the festival’s scale and ambition.

The modern-day Belsonic

Today Belsonic runs over several weeks in June, turning Ormeau Park into one of the biggest live-music venues in Northern Ireland. Headliners have included global stars across different genres of music — from Lizzo, Florence & The Machine, and the Stereophonics to rock legends and Electronic Dance Music icons such as Biffy Clyro, Stormzy, and Flip & Fill. This variety reflects the festival’s broad public appeal.

Events generally begin at 6:00 p.m., allowing time for attendees to enter the standing-only venue, followed by supporting acts in the early evening and the headliner performing later on in the evening. All performances finish by 11:00 p.m. to adhere to local noise regulations.

Chill zone, silent disco and inclusive atmosphere

As well as offering plenty of space for dancing and mingling, festival-goers can also enjoy an array of other activities, including the Chill Zone (a tranquil retreat to unwind), a broad selection of food and drink options, and the possibility to dance the night away at the silent disco while listening to their favourite music. There are also a number of pop-up stores during the event, offering an array of festival-themed apparel and accessories, as well as a range of live performances and art exhibitions.

In addition to the main stage, there are also a number of smaller stages with a variety of performers, offering festival-goers a more unique setting to discover and interact with up-and-coming musicians.

Together, these activities transform Belsonic from a simple series of performances into a mini-festival environment which help to create a more immersive, sociable, and inclusive atmosphere for a broad audience — one that encourages people to treat each night as a full cultural event rather than just a single performance.

Covid-19 pulling the break

In 2020, the Belsonic festival was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This cancellation was part of widespread disruption across the live-music industry as public-health measures in the UK and Ireland restricted large gatherings and international tours.

In 2021, Belsonic tried to restart under pandemic conditions, but continued caution and public-health guidelines meant it could not proceed with its normal summer scheduling.

Thankfully, 2022 saw the easing of many Covid restrictions, meaning that the festival could re-open. Several artists originally booked for the cancelled 2020 dates were rescheduled to perform in 2022, such as Iron Maiden, who were announced to return as part of the festival after having their 2020 slot postponed.

The festival has seen a significant resurgence of live music in the UK and Ireland after pandemic restrictions lifted with attendance figures comparable to, or above, pre-pandemic seasons.

Northern Ireland’s largest live music event

In summary, what began as a modest series of gigs has grown into an event that draws tens of thousands of people annually, with a significant economic impact: in 2023 alone, Belsonic generated an estimated £20 million+ in additional economic activity for Northern Ireland and created thousands of jobs related to the event and tourism.

It’s no surprise that the festival has steadily grown to occupy the position as Northern Ireland’s largest live music event and is currently the only UNESCO⁹ city of music on the island of Ireland (since 2021).