Belfast City Council is clamping down on the number of occasions it will light up City Hall, as it seems the bulging illumination calendar has lost the run of itself.
Limits imposed on Belfast City Hall illumination
In 2024, there were 14 set dates on which the iconic building was lit up, for traditional holidays, events and anniversaries, such as St Patrick’s Day, Chinese New Year, Belfast Pride and International Women’s Day. However, 50 dates were added to the list, for a total of 64 last year, including for Irish President Michael D Higgins’ birthday and to highlight the work of various charities.
A recent Belfast City Council committee report has indicated that the sheer amount of individual illuminations is becoming impractical.
It seems the actual technology used to do the illuminations is creaking under the pressure, as it “cannot now accept any further stored scenes, as it is at full capacity”, while new light designs for the 14 set dates have to be manually programmed by a trained member of staff, costing £10,000 each year.
Also, the public are even becoming confused as to why City Hall is being lit up on some occasions, “as the colours themselves are often only of significance to the adherents of the particular group requesting them”.
Now the council is set to introduce stricter criteria to stop organisations and others going illumination-happy. Eventually, we would run out of colours.
Dead bird tips tool drops wild reminder
Unsure of what to do if you spot a dead wild bird while out for a stroll in one of Belfast’s many lovely parks? Thankfully Stormont’s Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) has you covered.
Belfast City Council has this week shared some advice on the issue that helpfully instructed residents not to “pick up or touch sick, dying or dead wild birds”, instead telling them to use Daera’s online reporting tool.
Daera’s wild bird online reporting tool site also advises: “Avoid contact with bird faeces.”
Did this really need to be said?
Two workmen by the Titanic Memorial outside Belfast City Hall in June 1955 (Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Old site in the frame
Everyone, or at least those with a penchant for history and nostalgia, loves looking at old photographs of a bygone era.
With that in mind, a photograph from 1955 — showing Donegall Square North, with Belfast City Hall in the background — has been doing the rounds on X this week.
In the foreground is the Titanic Memorial. However, it’s not situated where it is currently, in the grounds of City Hall.
Instead, the photo shows its original location at the centre of the roadway on Donegall Square North. Fun fact: It had to be moved in 1958 after drivers kept crashing into it and disrupting the flow of traffic.