Overview
Discover more about Belfast’s rich nautical heritage as the Belfast Maritime Festival sails back into town again.
The bank holiday weekend will be packed full of seafaring and landlubber activities for all ages, focused along the city’s quaysides and throughout Titanic Quarter and Sailortown.
From 10am each day, there’ll be music, food stalls and demos, street shows and performers, visiting Tall Ships and naval vessels and loads more! Other highlights include kayaking, paddle boarding, yoga on the Lagan, the Maritime Food Market, a pop-up picnic area, an exhibition delving into Belfast’s maritime past, and the chance to discover nautical attractions along the Maritime Mile, including SS Nomadic, HMS Caroline and the Great Light.
The most recent festival was held 6 & 7 September 2025, although seen to be without significant maritime music
Belfast Maritime festival to be rescheduled next year (2027) due to weather changes.
While the festival will be scheduled in the traditional September period this year, (2026) last year’s washout during the festival has made officials rethink the time of year.
The Maritime Programme board has considered this and has proposed to host the next edition of the Festival in early June (June 6 to June 8) 2027.
“Under a changing climate, Belfast will experience hotter drier summers and warmer wetter winters, with more extreme weather and rising sea levels. There will be an increase in average winter precipitation and in the frequency of heavy rainfall events.”