Events also include CardioSoc Colour Run, the Belfast Photo Festival, a Gospel Hall Outreach, and the Belfast 24 Hour Run.
Ormeau Park (Image: Belfast Live)
A number of events have been confirmed for public parks across Belfast in 2026.
At a Belfast City Council committee meeting in City Hall this week, six events were confirmed for Ormeau Park, Botanic Gardens, Victoria Park, Waterworks Park and Dixon Playing Fields.
Elected members at the February meeting of the council’s People and Communities Committee approved events requests by the CardioSoc Colour Run, the Belfast Photo Festival, the Belfast Marathon, the Belfast Barrio Fiesta, Bloomfield Gospel Hall Gospel Outreach, and the Belfast 24 Hour Run.
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Queens University Belfast’s Cardiology Society will host a charity colour run event at Ormeau Park on Sunday March 28, at a cost of £5 for Adults, £3 for Children and £15 for groups of four. The council report on events states: “The paint that is used is washable and will not damage any areas of the park. They have requested permission to collect money on site to raise funds for Heart Failure Warriors NI and Braveheart NI with a shared 50 percent of all money raised being donated to them.”
The Belfast Photo Festival will run throughout the month of June in a host of venues, including Botanic Gardens. Launched in 2011, this now annual photographic event has been described by Capture Magazine as one of the “best photography festivals in the world.” It attracts upwards of 100 thousand visitors a year, celebrating some of the finest national and international contemporary photography across 30 museums, galleries and public spaces.
The 44th full Belfast Marathon will take place on May 4 incorporating a 26.2 mile course that will cover all areas of the city. The route for this year’s full marathon will take participants through the Waterworks and will once again have the finish line at Ormeau Park. In previous years the event has included an entertainment zone in Ormeau Park with food trucks, allowing participants and spectators to partake in the celebration with friends and family.
The Half Marathon will take place on September 20. The event organisers have requested permission for the race to begin in Ormeau Park with the route taking the race through Victoria park and finishing again in Ormeau.
The Barrio Fiesta event at Botanic Gardens was created to celebrate Filipino culture, and to boost the morale of Filipinos living away from home. The event this year will be held on June 27.
It will celebrate Filipino culture through music, food and dance, and will provide workshops and classes. There will be live music and traditional Filipino performers attending from all over N. Ireland. It will showcase 35 vendors.
The council report states: “This is the first time this organiser has applied to the council to deliver an event at a Belfast Park location. However, the organisation has run this event for a number of years and has experienced growth year on year. Last year’s event attracted 2,500 attendees and the group anticipates 3,000 attendees in 2026.”
Bloomfield Gospel Hall Gospel Outreach at Dixon Playing fields will include Sunday Evening Services from Sunday May 17 to Sunday September 27, Gospel Outreach Saturday from April 18 to Saturday May 18, and Summer Bible Time from Monday August 10 to Friday August 14.
The Belfast 24 Hour Run at Victoria Park will happen from Saturday July 25 to Sunday July 26. The race is in its 15th year, having moved to Victoria Park in 2017. It is estimated that around 200 to 500 runners will take part. The event will include a 24 hour 100 mile race, a team event and a 50k race all inside the 24 hour time period.
The council report states: “This event takes place throughout the night. In previous years there have been a number of reports of noise disturbances so Council officers will work closely with the event organiser again this year to ensure these disturbances are mitigated.”
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