The first Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann to take place in Belfast has seen a 95 per cent footfall increase in the city. The celebration of Irish music and culture officially opened on Sunday in the city centre and also saw a trial of extended opening hours for shops.It will run until Sunday, August 9th, with more than 200 events and 180 traditional music competitions at venues, pubs and streets.There were an estimated 170,000 visitors to the city centre on Sunday and 165,000 on Monday, with the previous prediction of 800,000 visitors now expected to be exceeded.Visit Belfast chief executive Gerry Lennon said the impact was about “more than just numbers”, describing a “truly historic event”.“Sunday, Monday and [Tuesday] Ttoday (Tuesday) have been phenomenal. Belfast One have told us that on Sunday the city centre had about 170,000 visitors and on Monday there were 165,000, so we’re confident that as the week builds towards the pinnacle of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the estimated figure of 800,000 will be exceeded,” he said.“But this is more than just numbers. You don’t need statistics to know this is special – all you have to do is look around, look at the people with smiles on their faces.“This is truly a historic event.”Events on the Gig Rig main stage at City Hall on Tuesday included Irish dancing and musical acts such as the McClean family, Ards CCÉ Entertainment Classes, Nigel Black, Tunes Translated, Oriel Traditional Orchestra, The Cedar Dobson Band and Ruciteme Club.One of the later performances saw a collaboration between Macalla, an eight-piece ensemble featuring artists from the Northwest Folk Collective in Derry, and the Mshakht Collective from Iraq, blending the bouzouki and uilleann pipes with the qanun, oud and local percussion.Earlier this week, Stormont Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said the Fleadh was projected to bring a £53 million (€62 million) economic boost to the city.The Belfast One Business Improvement District (BID) has estimated footfall in the city centre almost doubled on Sunday, up 95 per cent from the same day last year to 176,462 people.They said the figures were recorded by Belfast One BID cameras that track footfall for their district around Belfast City Hall.On Monday, footfall figures showed an increase of 75 per cent on the same day last year to 165,077, with a 126.3 per cent increase on last week’s footfall figures.This year is the first time the annual music festival has been held in Belfast and only the second time it has been held in Northern Ireland, after being hosted in Derry in 2013.The 2026 event has been billed as one of the most culturally diverse in its history, with cross-community participation and a celebration of traditions from across Northern Ireland and beyond. – PA