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

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 address.

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).

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.

EarthPercent is our primary charity partner for 2025 and we’ll be actively raising money for them through £1 raised on each ticket purchased.