Data monitored by the Belfast One Business Improvement District (BID) has tracked these numbers within a one-square-mile perimeter around Belfast City Hall, with the opening Sunday drawing 176,462 people and the following Monday recording 165,077 visitors. Stormont’s Department for the Economy provided £1m via Tourism NI to support Belfast City Council in staging the event. The festival has coincided with a new trial allowing city centre shops to open earlier on Sundays at 11:00 AM to capture the early crowds. This marks the first time the world’s largest celebration of traditional Irish music has been hosted in Belfast following a hosting in Derry in 2013. Caoimhe Archibald shared: “The economic impact of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann demonstrates the substantial value of cultural tourism to the local economy and the wider hospitality sector.”