The annual Imagine! Festival will run from 24-30 March 2025 with over 120 events in 50 venues across the city, with Queen’s University Belfast organising and hosting 10 events.

This year’s festival will explore the theme, “helping you make sense of a crazy world.” The week-long programme is an eclectic mix of talks, workshops, theatre, comedy, music, exhibitions, film, poetry and tours.

The Queen’s events include-

• A film screening of ‘Denmark - The State of Happiness’ and conversation with producer Lesley Riddoch- shining a light on why Denmark is one of the happiest nations on earth, and what we can learn from them.
• Trailblazing women of Belfast- Historian Dr Robyn Atcheson introduces the familiar and not-so-familiar women from the nineteenth century who dared to push back against the notions of respectable society and attempted to change the world, starting with Belfast.
• The Seamus Heaney Centre Presents... LAND- An afternoon of sharing thoughts and reflections by young and adult writers on the theme of LAND.

Welcoming the festival, Joan Parsons, Head of Culture and Arts at Queen’s said:

“Queen’s is once again delighted to be one of the key supporters of the Festival, and we look forward to welcoming visitors to campus for a wide range of events exploring the theme of “making sense of a crazy world.”

“As a centre of learning, we’re committed to fostering reason and critical thought, and hope that our events will add to the mission of the Festival through conversations focused on rational thought, meaningful ideas and expertise.”

Other festival highlights include a series of events examining the relationship between music and activism, particularly ska and reggae; a special focus on artistic expression in a digital age and the constant barrage of modern media on our thinking and habits; and the intersection of the climate crisis and growing inequality and injustice across society.

The Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas and Politics 2025 programme is available to view online via imaginebelfast.com.

Media

Media enquiries to comms.office@qub.ac.uk.