New study reveals Belfast’s biggest entertainment strengths and weaknesses

For many people, a good entertainment scene comes down to having enough choice close by. A pub after work, live music at the weekend, somewhere to eat or a quick cinema trip can all make a difference to how enjoyable a city feels day to day.

placeholder image — New study reveals Belfast’s biggest entertainment strengths and weaknesses | Source: Unsplash

A new study has compared 66 UK cities to find out where residents have the strongest overall choice of entertainment, looking beyond reputation to measure the availability of nightlife, culture, leisure and lifestyle amenities.

The study was conducted by PR Superstar, using a per-capita scoring system that combines these factors into a single entertainment index. Figures were standardised by population to allow fair comparisons between cities of different sizes.

Belfast ranks 65th out of 66 cities analysed, with a total score of 17.53, despite performing relatively well in several individual nightlife categories.

The city has 32 pubs per 10,000 residents, giving it a solid choice of places to meet for a drink. It also has 14.62 restaurants per 10,000 residents, although this is considerably lower than some of the smaller cities that appear near the top of the overall ranking.

Belfast's event offering is more limited by comparison. The city records 0.29 entertainment events per 10,000 residents and 0.28 comedy events per 10,000 residents, while cinema availability stands at 0.12 movie theatres per 10,000 residents.

Nightlife is where Belfast puts in a stronger showing. There are 0.85 nightclubs and bars per 10,000 residents and 0.89 live music venues per 10,000 residents, giving the city a noticeable evening and music scene.

It also records 0.15 casinos per 10,000 residents, one of the higher figures in the study.

Away from nightlife, Belfast has a reasonable selection of outdoor and recreational amenities. There are 72.3 parks and play areas per 100,000 residents, while its green space access score is 95.8.

The city also has 12.5 sports facilities per 10,000 residents and 1.19 gyms per 10,000 residents, giving residents options for keeping active away from the traditional entertainment scene.

Belfast records an average annual temperature of 9.5°C and around 1,277 hours of sunshine each year, while its cinema tickets average £10.

The overall results show an interesting contrast. Belfast has several of the ingredients associated with a lively city, particularly pubs, nightlife, live music and casinos, but its lower availability of other entertainment and leisure amenities brings down its overall position when everything is assessed on a per-capita basis.

That makes Belfast's entertainment profile quite different from the smaller cities at the top of the ranking. Chichester, Lichfield and Winchester score highly because they perform consistently across a broader range of measures, while Belfast's strengths are more concentrated around nightlife and socialising.

Despite finishing near the bottom overall, Belfast's results suggest that its entertainment scene is not necessarily lacking. Instead, the city's strongest offering is concentrated in particular areas, with its pubs, bars and live music venues giving it a more nightlife-focused character.

The most entertaining cities in the UK: