£750k benefit to Belfast from this year's St Patrick's celebrations, report finds
The report, forwarded to the June meeting of the council's City Growth and Regeneration Committee, showed that the costs to the ratepayer were £290,000.
That covered what the council calls lots – lot one, the parade and pageant at £95,000, dealt with by the council itself; lot two, the city centre weekend music programme at £70,000, delivered by Tradfest; lot three, the cross-city music showcase at £50,000, delivered by Féile an Phobail; lot four, an 'open call' at £50,000, and parade logistics and support for programming and marketing activity at £25,000.
The council states: 'Good Relations funding of £20k was also secured to enhance the community offering within the parade.'
It estimated the overall direct spend for the St Patrick's celebrations, excluding accommodation, was £788,062.
The report states there was an estimated visitor attendance of 25,000 to 30,000 in the city centre on March 17 for the parade and festival Village – similar numbers to 2024, when the weather was better. Over 700 performers and community participants took part in the parade.
Over 16,000 people attended events across 13 venues as part of the St Patrick's Music Festival, with an estimated 12,000 visitors engaging with programming at Cathedral Gardens alone over the course of the weekend. The festival featured 410 participants, over 60 hours of content, and performances from a diverse range of artists.
The TradTrail extended across 60 venues citywide, featuring 87 artists, while the Spraoi Cois Lao event, or 'Footprint Fun,' which took place at Custom House Square on March 8 had almost 6,000 people. 2 Royal Avenue saw over 3,550 visitors at its events.
Key findings from the Belfast St Patrick's Day 2025 socio-economic survey show 51% of visitors were from Belfast City Council area, 30% were from elsewhere in Northern Ireland, four per cent from the Republic of Ireland, nine per cent from Great Britain, and six per cent from other regions.
For 44% of those who came from outside Northern Ireland, the event was the main reason for their trip. Meanwhile, 24% were staying in accommodation away from home, and 32% attended the event with children.
Most (86%) gave the parade a rating of 8 to 10, including 30% who rated it as 'extremely good.'
The vast majority (97%) of visitors agreed that the event improves Northern Ireland's reputation as a host for events like these.
A similar number (96%) felt the St Patrick's celebrations were inclusive for all people from all cultural heritages, while 94% were likely or very likely to visit St Patrick's Day celebrations in Belfast in future years.
For next year, the council intends to look at how works in other parts of the city will affect events.
The report states: 'A key consideration for 2026 will be the redevelopment of Cathedral Gardens, scheduled to begin in October 2025 and lasting approximately 12 months. This will impact use of that site for next year's programme, requiring early planning around alternate locations and infrastructure.
'Operationally, while the parade route does have pinch–points due to the high density of the spectators attending; new measures (such as a screen) were introduced in 2025 to mitigate against these particular risks. There was also the addition of audio description for those with limited sight.'
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