Bearded man wearing virtual reality headset

Belfast has become a magnet for the creative arts with an explosion of talent in music, theatre, film and television. Our bands, artists, and film-makers consistently push the creative boundaries and the city is building a serious reputation worldwide.

Our colleges and universities, students and researchers continue to explore the edge of new techniques and technologies both in the creative sector and in their application in everyday life. In a statement of its bleeding-edge ambition the city has established a national immersive lab that seeks to bring Virtual and Augmented Reality Tech into the home, the office and on to the factory floor.

The new Belfast Immersive Lab, in partnership with the Department of Economy and Digital Catapult will give any organisation the opportunity to get hands-on experience with the latest immersive technology.

The lab will be equipped with the latest augmented and virtual reality hardware and a VR team will encourage local businesses, innovators, and researchers to try-out, proto-type and exploit what is expected to be a key technology sector in the coming decade.

In support of this ambition we have pioneered a £20,000 Immersive Belfast Tourism challenge designed to encourage SMEs to proto-type exceptional immersive experiences that will attract more visitors to Belfast.

Yardman's Trail co-creation workshop

Yardmen Trail AR Stories immersive app

Celebrating the historic links between the Maritime Mile and east Belfast.

SS Nomadic and Titanic Belfast visitor attractions

HUB-IN: Transforming Belfast’s Maritime Mile through innovation

Belfast HUB-IN aims to further enrich and animate Belfast's Maritime Mile through digital innovation.

Innovators using virtual headsets with High Sheriff outside Belfast City Hall

Immersive technologies give glimpse of tourism’s future

Augment the City Showcase provides glimpses of how the future of tourism could look.