Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the

Laganside Corporation The Laganside Corporation was a non-departmental public body formed by the Laganside Development (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 with the goal of regenerating large sections of land in Belfast, Northern Ireland adjacent to the River Lagan. This ...

. The development is named after the architect

Charles Lanyon Sir Charles Lanyon DL, JP (6 January 1813 – 31 May 1889) was an English architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland. Biography Lanyon was born in Eastbourne, Sussex (now East Sussex) in ...

Construction

Planning for the building began 1989, with the hall being completed in 1997 for the sum of £32 million. Practice partner Peter McGuckin was the project architect. The main circular Auditorium seats 2,241 and is based on the Berlin Philharmonic Hall designed by

Hans Scharoun Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun (20 September 1893 – 25 November 1972) was a German architect best known for designing the Berliner Philharmonie (home to the Berlin Philharmonic) and the Schminke House in Löbau, Saxony. He was an important ...

. However the flexible design of the Auditorium allows the stalls seating to be moved to create a larger arena. The smaller adjoining Studio seats 380. The dome of the building is coated in copper. This is so the exterior will eventually turn green and reflect the dome of

Belfast City Hall Belfast City Hall ( ga, Halla na Cathrach Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: ''Bilfawst Citie Haw'') is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the comm ...

and other Victorian buildings in the city centre. The building also contains bars and a restaurant.

Notable events

Barack and Michelle Obama at the Belfast Waterfront Convention Centre

Many plays take place every year, in the 350 seated capacity studio, including operas, pantomimes, and musicals. The hall is a key venue for the

Belfast Festival at Queen's Belfast International Arts Festival, formerly known as Belfast Festival at Queen’s, claims to be the city’s longest running international arts event. Originally established in 1962, it was hosted by Queen’s University until 2015, after whi ...

and for concerts given by the

Ulster Orchestra The Ulster Orchestra, based in Belfast, is the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United K ...

. During their 2002 tour, in promotion of their album '' Right Now'', famous pop trio

Atomic Kitten Atomic Kitten is an English girl group formed in Liverpool in 1998, whose current members are Liz McClarnon, Jenny Frost and Natasha Hamilton. The group was founded by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) members Andy McCluskey and Stuart ...

recorded their '' Right Here, Right Now'' DVD at the auditorium.

Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...

performed there on 19, 20 and 21 January 2005 as part of their series of reunion concerts. In 2011 the Waterfront hosted the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

Ardfheis or ''ardfheis'' ( , ; "high assembly"; plural ''ardfheiseanna'') is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. The term was first used by Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language cultural organisation, for i ...

, the first time for it to be held in

. On March 15, 2013 American country music singer Carrie Underwood played a concert as part of her

Blown Away Tour The Blown Away Tour was the third headlining tour by American country music singer Carrie Underwood, in support of her fourth studio album '' Blown Away''. This was Underwood's first worldwide tour, with the singer performing in both Europe and A ...

. On January 18, 2014 ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

'' auditions were in here. The auditions were for the

Series 8 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

of the show. The auditions were shown on April 14, 2014. The annual Christmas show, 'The Music Box', starring Peter Corry was hosted by the Waterfront Hall in December 2013.

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...

lead vocalist

Shane Filan Shane Steven Filan (born 5 July 1979) is an Irish pop singer. He is one of the two lead singers of pop vocal group Westlife, which was formed in 1998, disbanded in 2012, and regrouped in 2018. Westlife have released thirteen albums, embarked on ...

played at the hall as a solo artist in 2017. The 2018

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British ra ...

are due to take place at the Hall on 4 April. It will be the first time the awards have taken place in Belfast. The annual snooker tournament, The Northern Ireland Open has been held at the venue since its second year in 2017.

References

External links

Official websiteBelfast City Council -About Waterfront HallRobinson McIlwaine architects
Buildings and structures in Belfast Concert halls in Northern Ireland Exhibition and conference centres in Northern Ireland Music venues in Belfast Tourist attractions in Belfast Buildings and structures completed in 1997 {{NorthernIreland-struct-stub

Construction

Notable events

See also

References

External links