shaped by ideas.
powered by people.

Our call for 2026 events is now open. Read on to find out how you can bring your ideas to life in next year’s festival.

Our 2026 festival

The Imagine! Belfast Festival returns during 23–29 March 2026 and we are once again inviting you to send us ideas for an event as part of the festival.

Our annual Call for Ideas is intended to give people a role in programming the festival, from suggesting speakers to directly creating and delivering events. Although we can’t run with every proposal, we promise to look seriously at every suggestion and come back to you with a reasoned response.

If you are interested, please complete the short Event Submission Form (link below) starting on 10 October 2025 and before the deadline on 7 November 2025.

What are we looking for?

We are open to all suggestions, but we particularly appreciate proposals that are original, imaginative and creative. You may have an idea for an event around a particular issue or idea using a format such as a debate, performance, exhibition, workshop or a kids / family offering. However, your proposed event has to be engaging and accessible for the wider community, and deliverable from a logistical, health & safety and financial point of view.

We can help find you a venue and take care of marketing and ticketing etc. We can also offer a small amount of funding to support your proposed event if needed (though we expect well-funded organisations to take care of their own expenses).

The 2026 festival is likely to focus on themes such as censorship in the arts, migration, the climate crisis, social justice and equity, current global conflicts, civic activism and deliberative democracy. However, please do not regard this as a prescriptive list.

How do I get involved?

We need you to complete the submission form with as much detail as possible. Your submission will be acknowledged, before being considered alongside other applications. Shortlisted suggestions will be taken forward by our Board and the final decision will be made by the end of November 2025.

guidelines

All events must take place during 23–29 March 2026 either as public events in Belfast and/or online.
Your event(s) should be as financially accessible as possible, preferably free or pay what you can.
We require events to be fully accessible and organised with an inclusive mindset to proactively address the needs of all potential attendees.
Events should be as creative and imaginative as possible with your audience encouraged to participate.
Organisers should take responsibility for all relevant insurances, licences, and health & safety requirements, including any required public health safeguards. This evidence must be provided on request.
Organisers should take responsibility for all costs associated with the event. Assistance may however be available subject to criteria detailed in our submissions form.
Organisers should help publicise and promote their particular event(s) on any print materials, social media, and websites you use.
Assistance in the form of helping to originate and distribute publicity materials, supplying photos of your event, facilitating media coverage, providing online resources and post-event evaluation will be appreciated.
We can provide further information and advice on these guidelines as required.
For inspiration about possible events, check out our previous festivals.

Now, please watch the video.

Other opportunities

There will be opportunities to participate as a volunteer with the festival team. Other opportunities will develop for individuals and groups nearer the festival so send us an expression of interest by emailing us before 16 January 2026. We are also currently looking for help with PR, photography, filming, and event organisation. We always need help with fundraising—could you or your organisation host a fundraising event for the festival or do you know someone who would be interested in sponsorship?

Contact details and further information

If you’d like to discuss your event idea prior to submission, or need any further information, please contact:

he***@************st.com

Otherwise, click below to get started!

event submission form

support imagine!

In this climate of austerity, it’s difficult to secure public funding for our work. We try to make our programme as accessible as possible to the public at large and yet pay our performers a decent fee. We work hard to ensure that almost all of our events are free – so if you feel like making a donation (no matter how small), please use this secure payment system provided by PayPal. We’re a registered charity with low administration costs.

donate

In this climate of austerity, it’s difficult to secure public funding for our work – so if you feel like making a donation (no matter how small), you can do so on our PayPal page. Thank you!