A group of Belfast musicians and performers will represent the city on an international stage this week as part of a cultural exchange programme with the Irish Festival of Oulu in Finland.
Supported by Belfast City Council, the delegation will travel to Oulu, European Capital of Culture 2026, where they will perform and connect with audiences and creative practitioners until Sunday 27 September.
Featured artists include Gráinne Holland and her band, The Belfast Wren Boys, storyteller Eamonn Keenan and traditional music group Tempest Ceol – all of who performed at this summer’s Fleadh Cheoil na Éireann in the city.
The visit forms part of the council’s ongoing Music Matters programme and demonstrates how the city’s UNESCO City of Music designation is creating international opportunities for local artists through membership of the wider UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Councillor Joe Duffy, Chair of the council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee, said:
As a UNESCO City of Music, Belfast is committed to supporting our artists to develop their careers, build international connections and access new audiences.
This partnership with Oulu – itself a UNESCO City of Media Arts - showcases the exceptional talent that exists within our creative sector and enables them to champion the city’s abilities to new audiences.
Through initiatives like this, we continue to invest in our creative communities, strengthen Belfast’s position on the international stage and ensure local artists can benefit from the opportunities that our UNESCO designation provides.
Producer J Shields, who has travelled to Olu as part of Gráinne Holland’s band Duíl, said he and his fellow musicians are pleased to have the opportunity to perform their ‘tradtronica’ show, based on the audience Irish story of Macha, to new audiences as part of the exchange project.
He said:
Creating this show has been a truly unique experience. To bring a modern twist to the traditional sounds we’ve known our whole lives has been so fulfilling.
We’re so excited to electrify the audience at the Irish Festival of Oulu with a show full of heart and the true spirit of craic and celebration.
The exchange with Olu highlights how Belfast’s status as Ireland’s only UNESCO City of Music status is continuing to open and develop pathways to local musicians for performance and professional development beyond the city.
Belfast has also recently joined UNESCO Together - a unique cross-border partnership bringing together all those currently hold UNESCO status from across Ireland, as well as sites hoping to receive designations in the future.
The network includes input from cities like Dublin and Galway, as well as heritage sites like Giant’s Causeway and Skellig Michael, and aims to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing between partner cities and sites to improve outcomes for each UNESCO project.
