BELFAST INSIDER
Hey there, Insider! 👋
Hey there, Insider! 👋
If your WhatsApp groups went strangely quiet last weekend, there was probably a reason. Half of Belfast seemed to head for Donegal or anywhere else they could escape to, while everyone else was weaving around bonfires, diversions, and marching bands.
Now the smoke has cleared and Belfast is back into summer mode. The events calendar is packed, the city is filling up, and everyone seems determined to squeeze every bit out of the summer craic.
Got any plans yourself?
Here’s all we found interesting lately →
THE DIGEST: Belfast in Brief
🏛️ Belfast is giving old places a second chance... but not all of them
Some of Belfast's most exciting new spaces aren't actually new at all.
The city's historic Assembly Rooms, built in 1769, are finally getting the restoration they deserve ahead of the Fleadh. Conservation work is underway, with plans to bring the building back into everyday life. Also, just a few miles away, an old church building on Ormeau Road is starting a new chapter as The Commons, a community hub with a café, arts venue, ethical shop, artisan food traders and event spaces.
But not every historic building is enjoying the same revival. Traders at Smithfield Market are complaining of a leaky roof, peeling paint and grime bad enough to make visitors think the place is closed.
Councillor Brian Smyth, who grew up visiting the market, put it simply: it's become "the forgotten part of the city." Belfast City Council says maintenance and deep cleaning are underway, but traders believe one of the city's most distinctive retail spaces deserves much more than a quick tidy-up.
This is very Belfast. Some buildings are getting more love than others. Hopefully Smithfield gets its own comeback story soon.
💬 Which Belfast place deserves its own comeback story?
👗 Belfast's love affair with second-hand shopping is only getting bigger
Two weeks ago we told you charity shops had become cool again. Turns out Belfast wasn't finished.
Europe's biggest thrift festival, Clothes Cycle, arrives at Newforge Sports Complex on 25 July with more than 100 vintage sellers, a free clothes swap, street food, DJs and even free clothing alterations. Several ticket releases have already sold out.
More people are buying pre-loved, repairing instead of replacing and hunting for things with a bit of character. Whether it's a vintage jacket or a Victorian building, Belfast seems to be embracing the idea that old doesn't mean outdated.
Also, can we finally agree that buying second-hand doesn't mean you're cheap?
💬 What's your best charity shop find in Belfast?
🌍 Belfast is about to have its biggest summer in years
If the city feels busier than usual, you’re not imagining it. Fleadh alone is expecting 800,000 visitors and that's before you add the rest of the summer's two million.
With August set to be the busiest month as the city hosts Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for the first time. Add in Belfast Pride, Féile an Phobail, the Mela, TradFest, cruise ships arriving at the docks and a packed calendar of events. For anyone who usually complains "there's nothing on in Belfast", summer 2026 could prove them wrong.
And the best bit? You don't need to be a visitor to enjoy it. More people exploring Belfast means busier cafés, livelier streets and maybe a reason to finally visit that place you've walked past a hundred times.
If you've been looking for an excuse to play tourist in your own city, this is definitely the summer to do it.
🔗 Cool FM
💬 What's the one Belfast summer event you're most looking forward to?
🏪 LOCAL BUSINESS SCOOP
Openings, Closures & Buzz Around Town
🎾 HALT is growing... and Belfast's padel boom is too
HALT wasn't supposed to become one of Belfast's favourite hangouts. Now it's getting even bigger.
The space which transformed the old Great Northern Mall into a hub for street food, live music and independent businesses is launching Phase 2. New retail units, makers' studios, co-working offices and food spaces are being added. The highlight for many people will be Let's Go Padel, a brand-new indoor padel venue due to open at the spot by the end of July.
People aren't just looking for somewhere to shop anymore. They want somewhere to spend a few hours, try something different and bump into other people.
If HALT's first year proved people were up for this kind of thing, Phase 2 shows they’re not getting bored yet.
💬 Have you tried padel yet, or is it still on your "must try" list? 🎾
🍺 Want your business featured? [Get in touch →]
💎 From London talent agent to Belfast jewellery founder: Emma Power brings her creative journey home
For years, success was often seen as something you had to chase elsewhere. Leave Belfast, build a career, then maybe come back someday.
Emma Power is doing things differently. After almost a decade working in London's entertainment industry as a talent agent, she turned her creative side project into a jewellery brand that travelled from Bali to Australia. Now, six years after launching Emma Leonie Jewellery, she is bringing the business back to Belfast.
Emma says the move home was not about stepping backwards, but reconnecting with what matters most. "I realised life really is about the people you share it with, and most of my people were back home."
For years Belfast had a bit of a habit of sending its creative people away. Nice to see a few of them finding their way back. It follows a theme we spotted with Nathan Sno too: Belfast people taking their experience elsewhere, then bringing it back home.
Through jewellery workshops launching in the city, Emma hopes to help others reconnect with their own creativity.
💬 Would you ever leave a "dream job" to build something of your own?
💼Want to win bigger contracts? Belfast Council is offering free help
If you've ever looked at a public sector tender and thought, "Where do I even start?", Belfast City Council has a new programme worth knowing about.
Eligible businesses can access free one-to-one mentoring to help prepare bids, plus funding towards Real Living Wage accreditation and a year's membership of Invest NI's Tender Alert Service, making it easier to spot new contract opportunities. It all starts with a free information session on 23 July at Belfast City Council, 9 Adelaide Street.
Not the flashiest opportunity in the world. But for a small business trying to land bigger contracts, knowing where to start can be half the battle.
Your Weekend Lineup
🎟️ WHAT’S HAPPENING:
Still deciding what to do this weekend? We've done the scrolling so you don't have to. Here are a few events worth checking out.
Thursday 16th July
Friday 17th July
Saturday 18th July
Sunday 19th July
Monday 20th July
Tuesday 21st July
Wednesday 22nd July
💛 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
🏅 Sixty-five reasons to clear your calendar for Glasgow
Photo: Lukas Hartmann
Sixty-five athletes are pulling on the Northern Ireland vest for this summer's Commonwealth Games, and honestly, the spread of talent is mad. Newry's Kate O'Connor goes in off the back of a World Championship silver in the heptathlon. Rhys McClenaghan, the man who's somehow Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion on the pommel horse all at once, is back after a shoulder injury nearly wrote off his year.
Behind every name is a story. The student squeezing training around exams. The nurse fitting sessions around shifts. The athlete heading to their first Games wondering how far they can push themselves.
There's a version of this story in every discipline; a judo bronze here, a first Games there, a nurse who lifts weights on the side chasing a personal best. Sixty-five athletes. One Northern Ireland badge. All heading to Glasgow this summer.
💬 Who are you rooting for?
🍽️ RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK
🧇 Treat City, Andersonstown
Tucked in opposite the Leisure Centre on the Andersonstown Road, Treat City's been quietly building a name for itself as Andytown's new go-to for absolutely wrecking your sweet tooth. Bubble waffles rolled up and eaten like a wrap, mini Dutch pancakes by the dozen, churro sticks, waffle sticks, crepes, plus a slushy wall with about ten flavours and milkshakes thick enough to need a spoon. This is not a "share a dessert" kind of spot, it's a "pick your poison and commit" kind of spot.
Vibe: Bright, fun, made for the camera, the kind of place you post even before you’ve finished eating. The Andersonstown spot joins Treat City's original Ballyhackamore location.
Price: £ Hours:
12pm–midnight
Address: 135 Andersonstown Rd, Belfast BT11 9BW
Watch his review below…
@christopher.eats I TRIED THE WHOLE MENU AT THIS BRAND NEW DESSERTs SHOP IN ANDYTOWN - BELFAST! They are open from 12 noon to 12pm every day so you can ALWA... See more
📸 As Spotted
⛵ Whiterock Bay, Co Down
Captured at the serene Whiterock Bay, this stunning shot by Magherally Lens photographer Alan Marsden shows yachts gently anchored in calm waters, the boats believed to be part of the Strangford Yacht Club. A quiet, maritime slice of NI at its best.
Enjoy the view
💬 YOUR VOICE
Seen something we should know about?
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👋 OUTRO
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The Belfast Insider team!