The Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas and Politics has revealed its 2026 programme, ahead of a city-wide run from 23 to 29 March.
Now in its 12th year, the festival will once again take over Belfast with more than 120 events across 50 venues, blending debate, performance, workshops and public gatherings into a week-long exploration of ideas, culture and civic life.
This year’s theme, Thou Shalt Not Have No Idea, is a call to curiosity at a time when engagement can feel optional. Across the programme, audiences are invited not just to watch and listen, but to question, participate and think alongside each other.
The 2026 line-up includes Adam Kay, Mhairi Black, Len Pennie, Liam Ó Maonlaí and Tommy Tiernan, alongside new theatre from Kabosh, music from Dan Donnelly, comedy from Eleanor Tiernan and animation by rarewitch. Podcasts, walking tours, quizzes and informal gatherings sit alongside headline talks, reflecting the festival’s deliberately broad approach.
Accessibility and participation remain central. More than 70 percent of events are community-led, with select shows operating on a Pay What You Can Afford basis, reinforcing Imagine!’s long-held aim of thinking with the city rather than talking at it.
The full Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas and Politics programme is now live, with events taking place across Belfast from 23 to 29 March 2026.
