For 2025, we’ve partnered with travel booking platform Crewfare to bring you discounted accommodation with instalment plan options in Belfast.
Stay close by—book your hotel deal now and pay over time via Crewfare.
Exclusive hotel options tailored for AVA Festival attendees.
Reserve your stay now for a £99 deposit and make the most of your trip.
Accommodation + Festival ticket packages available.
Click HERE for more information.
TALKS PROGRAMME
This year’s Talks Programme takes place in the newly renovated Printworks building, with additional sessions at NineSquared.
We’re bringing together artists, media and creatives to speak on their journeys, alongside panels with industry voices exploring the future of Belfast nightlife. Seanchoíche also returns for a special storytelling night on the theme ‘My Love for Belfast’.
RSVP for the Talks Programme here and grab your AVA x Seanchoíche ticket here
The AVA Talks Programme is a PRS Foundation Talent Development Network Partner supported by PPL
Find out more at prsfoundation.com & ppluk.com
Conference Schedule
Room: Printworks | 2pm - 2:45pm
Artist Promotion 101 – Building a Sustainable Career in Music
Whether you're just starting or looking to take the next step, this talk offers practical guidance for navigating the challenges of a music career from self-promotion, to social media to pitching to record labels or radio stations. Learn about funding opportunities, artist support, content planning, and how to build long-term resilience as an independent artist. Led by experts, this session is packed with essential advice, resources, and real-world tips to help you thrive—creatively.
Room: Printworks | 3pm - 3:45pm
Fireside Chat: Sally C In Conversation
From local dancefloors to global festival stages, Sally C has forged a distinct path—raw, self-assured, and deeply rooted in Belfast’s underground spirit. In this Q&A, we explore the making of an artist: how Sally shaped her identity behind the decks, built her DIY label Big Saldo’s Chunkers from the ground up, and stayed true to her sound in a fast-moving, often male-dominated industry. A conversation about vision and the power of doing it your own way.
Room: Printworks | 4pm - 4:45pm
Future Generation: New Voices in Creative Culture
Across Northern & Southern Ireland, a new wave of creative talent is reclaiming and redefining what it means to be an artist today. The current generation has brought fresh energy across music, fashion, visual arts, and beyond—led by individuals rooted in community, culture, and experimentation. For this panel, we bring together a diverse group of next-gen creatives to explore what it really takes to build something meaningful from the ground up—and how to keep it honest, independent, and future-facing.
Room Printworks | 5:00pm - 6:30pm
Nightlife Roundtable
As Northern Ireland’s nightlife continues to evolve amidst shifting cultural, economic, and legislative landscapes, this roundtable brings together key voices from across the scene to explore where we stand—and where we’re headed. From grassroots promoters to venue owners, artists to policymakers, we’ll dig into the real challenges facing Belfast’s nightlife today: licensing, safety, transport, sustainability, community, and creative freedom. This is an open, solutions-focused conversation about protecting and progressing a vital part of Northern Ireland’s cultural fabric.
Room NineSquared | 6:30pm - 8pm
Industry Mixer
Room: Printworks | 8pm - 8:30pm
AVA x Seanchoiche – My Love for Belfast
Stories about people who you remember in the place you grew up, the place you spend most of your life, the place you visit regularly. Legends and myths that have passed through the streets over the generations. Old wives tales. Come tell your story about what makes a city. What do you love about it? Why?
Find out more below and grab your tickets.
Read more
INFORMATION
AVA Festival will run on Friday 30th and Saturday 31st May at the titanic Slipways in Belfast.
The festival will open each day at 13.00 and close at 23:00.
We suggest you arrive at the festival early to avoid queueing at the entrance. The entrance area will be particularly busy from 3 PM onwards.
Last entry to the festival is 7 PM.
The festival will be accessible by foot, taxi and public transport via train or bus with regular services running from Belfast City Centre.
If arriving by taxi, ensure to use the taxi drop off and pick up point.
We advise arriving on foot or via public transport, as there will likely be significant traffic disruption around the festival.
Please note there is no customer car park.
For 2025, we’ve partnered with travel booking platform Crewfare to bring you discounted accommodation with instalment plan options in Belfast.
- Stay close by—book your hotel deal now and pay over time via Crewfare.
- Exclusive hotel options tailored for AVA Festival attendees.
- Reserve your stay now for a £99 deposit and make the most of your trip.
- Accommodation + Festival ticket packages available
Click HERE for more information.
The dancing doesn’t end when the festival site closes. There will be a whole host of afterparties taking place across Belfast in some of the city’s most iconic venues hosted by some of our favourite festival acts as well as a few extra faces you’ll know and love.
After parties are ticketed separately from the main festival.
Announcements coming in Spring 2025.
Check out our AVA Store for the latest products – Festival apparel announcement coming in 2025. You can purchase AVA merchandise on-site or from our website year-round.
Proof Of Age
This is an 18+ event.
You will need one of the following to be permitted entry to the festival:
- A photo driving licence
- Valid Passport
- Yoti Citizen Card
Please note we are unable to accept any other form of ID. Please ensure you have these in good time, before the festival.
If you have purchased a Student/Resident Ticket, please bring a valid student ID or proof of TQ address.
If you have purchased a pre-3 pm ticket, you must arrive before 3 pm otherwise, you will be required to pay a surcharge of £10.
There is no re-entry permitted.
Weekend wristbands must be worn on the Saturday in order to gain entry on the second day. Please do not remove it after the event on Friday.
Prohibited Items
- No Alcohol
- No Liquids
- No glass of any kind
- Fireworks, flares or high-power torches
- No illegal or controlled substances (including psychoactive substances)
- Nitrous oxide
- Dogs or pets are not permitted on site with the exception of assistance dogs
- Drones/sky lanterns
- Portable laser equipment and pens
- Selfie sticks
- Spray cans/marker pens
- Professional film/video equipment
- Megaphones/air horns
- High-Vis tabards or jackets
- Bladed or sharp objects
- Any items which may reasonably be considered for use as a weapon
- No large bags, only small bags permitted
- No perfume/aftershave bottles
- No sun cream bottles larger than travel size
Management reserves the right to refuse entry, regardless of whether you have a ticket.
Alcohol will be served throughout the day and the night at AVA Festival. Strictly over 18’s. ID will be required. AVA does not authorise anyone to bring their own alcohol.
This year, our hospitality area is brought to you by Wing-It Belfast
Hospitality Tickets include:
- Speedy access to the Festival via the hospitality “Hot Spot” lane
- Access to the Wing-It Hotspot: Hospitality Bar & Seated Area
- Access to hospitality toilets
- A chance to experience some exclusive Wing-it Belfast craic.
Be sure to grab your ticket early as we expect high demand this year
This area is for strictly over 21-year-olds. You must have a valid ID and if you have purchased a ticket and you are under 21, you will only gain access to the festival (provided you are over 18).
You can purchase a Hospitality upgrade for your ticket at the Merchandise stand, provided there are still tickets left.
Student tickets are exclusively available via FIXR.
Students will need to provide a valid student ID upon entry to the festival.
Residents’ tickets are limited and are offered on a first-come-first-served basis. To claim your discounted tickets, please email a utility bill as proof of address to info@avafestival.com with ‘Resident Tickets’ as the subject line. The catchment area for resident tickets covers the docklands area only.
This year we have introduced the option to use PayPal’s Pay Later.
This will take the place of Deposit Tickets offered in previous years.
Pay Later allows you to spread the cost of your tickets across three payments. The first payment is made at the time of purchase, and the remaining two payments are automatically taken from your linked account every month on the same date.
Each payment is interest-free, with no hidden fees or costs.
You will need a PayPal account to use Pay Later. Please ensure you are logged into your Resident Advisor account before beginning.
To use Pay Later:
- Select your preferred ticket type and quantity on the RA Event Page. You can use Pay Later on any ticket. Click “Buy Tickets”
- At checkout: under “Payment details” select the option “PayPal Pay Later”
- Under Basket select “Pay Later”
- You will be transferred to PayPal – select the “Pay in 3” option and then “Continue”
AVA aims to be welcoming and accessible to all. We are committed to making your visit as easy and enjoyable as possible.
The event site is accessible and there are multiple accessible toilets. If you are attending the festival and wish to pre-book the accessible viewing platform or have any questions relating to accessibility please get in touch with info@avafestival.com
We provide a 2:1 ticket scheme for individuals who would be unable to attend our events without bringing a personal assistant. Once you have bought a full price ticket, please email info@avafestival.com with one of the following information below and a ticket will be supplied to you if requirements are met.
-DLA/PIP or equivalent (dated within the last 12 months)
-Medical Professionals letter – reviewed case by case
-Deaf or blind registration
-Nimbus Access Card
-Both sides of your blue badge
Please Note: Personal assistant tickets come at no extra charge. Please do not buy a ticket for your personal assistant as these tickets will not be refunded.
Once we have received this information we will be in touch regarding accessing the ticket for the personal assistant
AVA is on a journey to become a more sustainable, inclusive and environmentally friendly event where we reduce our negative impact on the world, both locally and globally, and cultivate a sense of community and belonging for everyone that passes through our gates year on year, where everyone feels that they belong to something special. It’s not an easy ride but it’s an exciting one. We are committed and we are in it for the long run.
AVA is committed to supporting the local community, championing homegrown talent with an emphasis on diversity & inclusion and actively minimising our impact on the environment.
We’ve created three strands for this work: Sustainability, Community, and Inclusion. We’re finding our feet and working on measuring how we’re currently performing and thinking about how we can not only improve what we are doing now but be leaders in the field. Throughout this journey, we’re committed to publicly reporting our progress, so that we can be held accountable, by you, our audience.
Charity Partner – EarthPercent. For 2025, £1 from all general release ticket purchases will be donated to our climate action partner EarthPercent (charity no:1188391). Co-founded by Brian Eno, EarthPercent works with an expert panel of scientists, researchers and activists to identify and support some of the most impactful organisations addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency. For more information on EarthPercent visit: earthpercent.org
OUR PARTNERS
Select one from below to learn more.
If you are interested in working with us in the future, please fill out this form
.
Conference Schedule
Resident Advisor
Resident Advisor was founded out of a passion for electronic music. Our platform, which started in 2001, helps people discover music, artists and events. Over the years RA has evolved and grown, but our ethos has remained the same. As an independent company staffed entirely by dance music lovers, we're dedicated to shining light on the passionate people and communities around the world that make electronic music tick.
PRS Foundation
The UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development. PRS Foundation has for 25 years invested in the future of music – funding new music and supporting careers from the grassroots up. Since 2000,PRS Foundation has given more than £50 million to over 9,000 new music initiatives.
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Heverlee
In a corner of Leuven, Belgium a Master Brewer - Joris Brams discovered a recipe within the pages of Abbey of the Order of Premontre records. This recipe inspired what would become Heverlee’s pilsner style lager. This hidden gem was revitalised and brought to the UK in 2013.
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Red Bull
Inspired by functional drinks from East Asia, Dietrich Mateschitz founded Red Bull in the mid-1980s. He developed not only a new product but also a unique marketing concept and launched Red Bull Energy Drink in Austria on April 1, 1987. A completely new product category was born – energy drinks.
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Wing It
Beginning as just a hatch at Malone Road's Botanic Inn, Wing It now has stores in Ballyhack, The Boneyard and most recently Lisburn Road. After several guerilla merch pop-ups at AVA Festival - via local legend Reger, it was only fitting we partner with them on the Wing It Hotspot - our 2025 Hospitality Area.
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Titanic Distillers
Based in Belfast, in the very shipyard where the Titanic and many of its sister vessels were built. Today, visitors to Thompson Dock can view the workings of Titanic Distillery and hear the story of Belfast's whiskey tradition, why it disappeared and how it has returned with the city's first working whiskey distillery in almost 90 years. Tours available.
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Tourism Northern Ireland
Tourism NI works to raise awareness of the importance of tourism to the economy and is responsible for developing and marketing Northern Ireland as a tourist destination across the world.
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EarthPercent
EarthPercent gives opportunities for those across the music industry to raise vital funds for the planet. They invite the industry to pledge ongoing donations or raise funds through innovative campaigns. They use 100% of funds raised from artists and brands to power their Grant Giving programme, ensuring that impactful organisations receive the resources to drive positive change.
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War Child
War Child are driven by a single goal - ensuring a safe future for every child living through war. They work to protect, educate and stand up for the rights of children living through conflict and go to the hardest to reach places in supporting them.
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UP! Productions
UP Productions help brands move beyond digital and create real-world experiences that drive cultural relevance and brand fans. They create pop-ups, festival activations, & retail experiences for brands that want to connect with music, fashion & youth culture.
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Juice Jar
Founded by Sam Shephard in 2019, Juice Jar was inspired by his experience of healthier on-the-go options in London and Australia. Originating in Belfast, Juice Jar has since extended to Bristol and Portrush, with 64 staff across seven venues. Its Belfast locations are at Lisburn Road, Botanic Avenue, Wellington Place and Ormeau Road.
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White Claw
White Claw Hard Seltzer takes its inspiration from the legend of the White Claw wave – when three perfect crests come together to create a moment of pure refreshment. They set out to make something as purely refreshing as that. The result is White Claw Hard Seltzer.
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Visual Spectrum
Visual Spectrum craft immersive worlds and impactful experiences through cutting-edge technology and creative expertise. From large-scale urban animations to bespoke installations and touring productions, they combine lighting, projection mapping, and visual design to captivate audiences and elevate every project.
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Partner with AVA
Interested in partnering with us? Use the link below to register your interest and tell us about you & your business.
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