TWO OF BELFAST'S BIGGEST OUTDOOR MUSIC EVENTS GENERATE OVER £30 MILLION FOR NORTHERN IRELAND ECONOMY

TWO OF BELFAST'S BIGGEST OUTDOOR MUSIC EVENTS GENERATE OVER £30 MILLION FOR NORTHERN IRELAND ECONOMY. 

The 2023 editions of Belsonic Festival at Belfast’s Ormeau Park, and Emerge Music Festival in the city’s Boucher Fields, generated additional economic activity amounting to £30.8 Million pounds, and created almost 6,000 paid employment opportunities according to an independent report. Together, these two entirely privately held & funded events attracted over 200,000 paid attendees, with substantial numbers of customers travelling to the events from out of state, with revellers coming from as far away as Australia, USA & mainland Europe. 

Chris Carey, Chief Economist at LIVE, the trade body for the UK Live Music Industry, and consultant to Sony Music, Spotify, and London's O2 Arena, conducted the study alongside live entertainment consultant Tim Chambers, who has occupied senior roles at Live Nation, the world’s biggest concert promoter, Ticketmaster, TicketWeb at the UK Academy music venues group. 

Belsonic, which was established in 2008 and has steadily grown to occupy the position as Northern Ireland’s largest live music event, generated £20.4 million pounds of additional economic activity in 2023, owing to sold out headline shows from international artists such as Lizzo, Tom Jones, Lionel Richie, George Ezra, David Guetta & Florence & The Machine. The annual event returns to Ormeau Park in June 2024, with headliners such as Take That, Sting, Shania Twain, Becky Hill & Limp Bizkit. 

Emerge Music Festival launched in 2022, and has quickly established itself as Ireland’s largest electronic music festival. The 2023 edition featured over 50 acts, both local and international, across 4 stages and 2 days. Headliners Carl Cox, Bicep, Camelphat and Charlotte deWitte played to sold out audiences, paving the way for a substantial expansion for the 2024 event, scheduled for August 24/25. 

Festival Director Alan Simms, also of The Limelight Belfast, CHSQ, Shine & many other live music companies in the city, commented “These economic impact figures are startling, and clearly indicative of the broader & hugely positive economic benefit to Belfast and beyond. Hospitality businesses, private transport, public services & many other key areas of the local economy benefit on show nights, and the local tourism industry & hotel occupancy always see a strong boost, not to mention the thousands of staff and local suppliers employed at these and our other events. We are delighted to see our events contribute to the local economy in such a substantial fashion both with the large summer events and the many other concerts and event we produce throughout the rest of the year.”