AVA 2026 Just Dropped The Belfast Lineup Of The Year
AVA Festival returns to Titanic Slipways Belfast on May 29 and 30 for its 12th edition. Kneecap, KETTAMA, Honey Dijon, Annie Mac, Interplanetary Criminal and more. Limited tickets remain.
They call it Belfast Coachella. They call it Techno Christmas. Whatever you call it, AVA Festival is back and the 12th edition is shaping up to be the most important one in its entire history.
AVA Belfast returns home to the iconic Titanic Slipways on 29 and 30 May 2026, celebrating twelve years as one of the UK and Europe's most vital independent festivals dedicated to electronic music, visual arts and contemporary culture. What began as an experimental gathering of 1,500 local enthusiasts in a decaying industrial warehouse has grown into a colossal international phenomenon, drawing crowds of up to 10,000 attendees per day. That trajectory is one of the most remarkable in British and Irish festival culture and in 2026 it reaches its biggest chapter yet.
What AVA Is All About
AVA Festival and Conference was the first ever grassroots electronic music and visual art festival in Belfast, made for and by Irish artists and promoters. Since its inception AVA has continued to strive to develop, sustain and progress the strong undercurrent of electronic music in Northern and Southern Ireland.
Twelve years ago founder Sarah McBriar identified a distinct void in the region's cultural exports. While Northern Ireland boasted a rich history of EDM production, its artists frequently had to migrate to London or Berlin to find sustainable platforms. Today the festival operates across five meticulously designed stages, integrating the raw imposing architecture of the Titanic Slipways with state of the art visual installations.
Brand new for 2026 is The Anywhere House, delivering intimate house party energy with cutting edge curation from Velo and Lab54. Then there's the art. Marking an exciting new addition to the festival, Different Together brings together five emerging visual artists alongside established artists Paul Doran, Mark Ervine, Naomi Ervine, and Emily Bisgaard to create a large scale art installation live on the Titanic Slipways. Celebrating diversity, inclusion, and the power of self expression, the project features figures from different backgrounds and perspectives inton one single visual statement spanning 20 metres in the centre of the festival.
The Lineup That Got Everyone Talking
AVA Belfast 2026 features Kneecap, KETTAMA, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, Annie Mac, Honey Dijon, Interplanetary Criminal, Octo Octa b2b Eris Drew, Blawan Live, DJ Gigola, Pegassi, Partiboi69, Calibre, Or:la, Chloé Caillet, Takuya Nakamura, Cromby, Cormac, Evian Christ, Surusinghe, deathoricky, Huartan, and many more.
Here's what each day will look like:
Friday, May 29: Cutting-Edge Club & Bass Focus The opening day centers around electronic club sounds, heavy bass, and techno.
Headliners:
KETTAMA
Honey Dijon
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Live Sets & Heavyweights:
Blawan (Live)
Calibre (Drum and bass heavyweight)
Club, Bass & Grime:
Chloé Caillet
Oblig b2b Hannah (Bass and grime exploration)
Emerging Talent & New Additions:
deathtoricky (Emerging Irish rapper)
Swoose
Twentyfourevan
Saturday, May 30: High-Energy & Cultural Heavy-Hitters The second day shifts focus toward massive homegrown moments and emotionally driven DJ sets.
Outdoor Stage Headliner:
Kneecap: The Belfast rap trio closing out the outdoor stage in a massive, definitive home-city festival booking.
Returning Favorites & High Energy:
Annie Mac (Returning to Belfast)
Partiboi69 (Bringing his signature chaos)
Or:la (Playing on home turf)
Featured Back-to-Back:
Octo Octa b2b Eris Drew (An emotional, immersive B2B set)
Ten new artists have also been added to the lineup including MPH, Effy, Swoose, DIEBYVEG, DJ Time Of The Month, MK Best, OJ Wilson, S.Sentif, Matheson, and Twentyfourevan.
Beyond The Music
AVA Belfast 2026 Talks and Workshops brings a full day of conversations, panels, and practical sessions to The MAC, with artists, creatives, and industry voices exploring the culture surrounding electronic music. Free to attend and open to all ages. This is the part of AVA that separates it from every other festival on the calendar. The music is exceptional. But the community around it is what makes people come back year after year.
IBILE brings its restaurant experience to AVA Festival Belfast with a new brunch menu inspired by West African flavours, music, art, and culture. Food, talks, art, and music. All in one place. All in Belfast.
Practical Information:
Dates: Friday May 29 and Saturday May 30 2026
Venue: Titanic Slipways, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Time: Gates open during the day, running into the night
Age: 18 plus
Tickets: Very limited final release tickets remain.
Available via Resident Advisor at ra.co and FIXR for student tickets. Weekend passes, group tickets, hospitality options, and day tickets all available. A donation of £1 is included in every ticket price for charity partner EarthPercent.
How To Get There
Belfast City Airport is the closest airport with direct flights from cities across the UK including London Heathrow, London City, Edinburgh, and Manchester. George Best Belfast City Airport is just minutes from the city centre. Belfast International Airport handles a wider range of European connections. Titanic Slipways is located in Belfast's Titanic Quarter and is easily accessible by taxi, public transport, and on foot from the city centre. The Glider rapid transit service connects the city centre to the Titanic Quarter in minutes. Taxis and rideshares are widely available across the city throughout the festival weekend.
Where To Stay
Belfast city centre has a wide range of hotels, hostels, and apartments at every price point. The Cathedral Quarter and city centre are both within easy reach of Titanic Slipways and packed with bars, restaurants, and accomodation options. Book early as the AVA weekend is one of the busies of the year in Belfast.
Why This Is The One To Go To
For young Irish music fans AVA is now a rite of passage. But it has long since outgrown that description. AVA Belfast in 2026 is one of the most complete festival experiences in the UK and Ireland. The lineup is diverse, forward thinking, and deeply connected to the city it comes from. The setting is unlike anything else on the festival calendar. The art, the talks, the food, and the community all add up to something that goes far beyond a weekend of DJs in a field.
Kneecap closing out the outdoor stage in Belfast. KETTAMA and Honey Dijon running the club stages on Friday. Or:la playing on home turf. Octo Octa b2b Eris Drew delivering what could be the most emotional set of the entire weekend. This is AVA at its absolute peak. Very limited tickets remain. Go get yours now.
