Speaking during a panel discussion for the Sound Of Belfast 24 festival in the Sonic Arts Research Centre on November 13, 2024, the city's Night Tsar Michael Stewart reveals Culture Night will return in 2025, six years after the last time the full event was staged.
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00:00Well, I don't really know, but again I'm just going to give you a little bit of history.
00:05A lot of people in the room will remember what the Golden Mile was in Belfast.
00:10And the Golden Mile was Great Victoria Street.
00:13And there were lots of nice venues, but there was a lot of dereliction venues.
00:17And there's a lot of dereliction there now.
00:19And it basically happened because Belfast had a ring of steel
00:22that you couldn't come into the city centre after certain times.
00:26But, you know, this is where there needs to be the joined-up writing.
00:31This is where the likes of DfE and DfC.
00:35I think a lot of this sits with Department of Communities, actually.
00:38And it's not all about Department of Economies.
00:43Because, you know, we are a community. This is a community.
00:47The night-time economy is a community.
00:49And that's cliché, and I could probably wax lyrical about it.
00:52But when I get to Gordon Lands, which I am soon, I'll be telling them this.
00:57And what that really means is, give us your money.
00:59Because if you can do this on what we see as Northern Ireland communities,
01:06and people will know what I mean by that,
01:09you need to look at the people who are actually delivering.
01:12And if that's across, if that is from the TEO, the Executive Office,
01:18communities, economy, and even infrastructure,
01:22who seem to be in a distant office.
01:26But that is where the money needs to come from to help support TransLink,
01:31which unfortunately is governed by the government.
01:34And can I just touch on culture now?
01:37Yeah.
01:38It's one of my five priorities.
01:41Two top ones are getting connectivity, late-night connectivity,
01:44established all year, not just for Christmas.
01:47Which starts on the 30th of November.
01:49If you don't know that, go and look up the TransLink website
01:52and share, share, share.
01:54Ending violence against women and girls.
01:57Mundane stuff like common sense approach to pavement cafe licensing,
02:02which is very important for night-time economy and hospitality.
02:06Some pedestrianisation of certain areas in Belfast,
02:10which DFI said they had no more money,
02:12but I said I would give you the bollards if you need them,
02:15because that's all that's needed because the consultation is done.
02:18But culture now.
02:20Getting culture now back for September 2025 will happen.
02:25Great.
02:27It will not happen the way we all knew it,
02:30because it probably outgrew what it needed to be.
02:34Probably too much on the streets and not enough back in the grassroot venues
02:38where artists shoot and will be paid.
02:43What I will say to you is there is a...
02:46I don't know what the word is.
02:48There's a study going on at the moment worth £30,000.
02:51It's widely out there from Belfast City Council around feasibility.
02:55But very clear on what I said on the purple flag.
02:58The purple flag is a benchmark of the night-time economy.
03:01Three in the night sit on it.
03:03The Department of Economy sit on it. I sit on it.
03:05I very clearly said that when culture now comes,
03:08it should not and will not be delivered by Belfast City Council.
03:12It needs to be delivered by people who have got skin in the game,
03:16who understand the OES of this world,
03:19the Adam Terkendens of this world,
03:21the Black Boxes of this world,
03:23the Macs of this world.
03:25And if I've left anybody out, I apologise.
03:27But people who know what they're doing.
03:29So it will happen.
03:31Thank you for that, Michael.