Belfast city centre road closures and traffic advice for Christmas light switch on and market opening weekend

The festive season is officially kicking off in Belfast this weekend.

With the annual Christmas Market preparing to open at the gates of Belfast City Hall on Saturday, November 16 and the Christmas light switch on almost upon us, Christmas is finally here.

The switch-on event on Saturday, 16th November will last around an hour, with gates opening at 6pm and the event starting at 6.30pm.

Read more: Belfast Christmas light switch on ticket details, times, entertainment info and more

Read more: Belfast Christmas Market 2024 dates, opening times and everything else we know

Belfast Lord Mayor Councillor Micky Murray will be joined on stage by comperes Pete Snodden, Rebecca McKinney and Paulo Ross from Cool FM’s breakfast show for a packed programme of entertainment for all the family.

All tickets have now been allocated for the Belfast Christmas light switch on.

Due to these events, there will be traffic restrictions and diversions in place within Belfast city centre on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November.

Some road closures are in place so please allow time for your journey. You can visit Translink's website for updates on all its services. Public hire taxis will relocate to Donegall Square East throughout Saturday 16 November.

The road restrictions are:

Saturday 16 November from 3am to Sunday 17 November at 5am

• Relocation of taxi rank on Donegall Square North to Donegall Square East.

• Suspension of disabled parking on Donegall Square North.

• Suspension of parking on Upper Arthur Street.

Saturday 16 November

• Closure of bus lane at Donegall Square North from 3am to 5am.

• Closure of Donegall Square North to vehicular traffic with the exception of the Translink services from 5am to 10am.

• From 4.30pm to 8.30pm full closure of:

  • Royal Avenue from Rosemary Street to Castle Place

  • Donegall Place

  • High Street from Castle Junction to Cornmarket

  • Castle Lane

  • Callender Street from bollards to Castle Lane

  • Castle Place

• Suspension of disabled parking on Castle Place (between junction of Cornmarket and Royal Avenue).

• Suspension of parking on Donegall Place.

• From 5.30pm to 8.30pm full closure of:

  • Wellington Place

  • Donegall Square North

  • Donegall Square West

Pedestrian access to Wellington Place, Donegall Square North and Donegall Square North will be retained until 5.30pm, when the area will become a ticket holder only zone for ingress.

Entrance points will be erected adjacent to:

• Donegall Place (Green zone)

• Donegall Square North (Red zone)

• Donegall Square North (Blue zone)

Sunday 17 November

To facilitate event infrastructure de-rig, there will be road closures from 2am to 5am at:

• Donegall Place

• High Street from Castle Junction to Cornmarket

• Castle Lane

• Callender Street from bollards to Castle Lane

• Castle Place

• Royal Avenue from Rosemary Street to Castle Place

• Wellington Place

• Donegall Square North

• Donegall Square West

For full details of the switch-on event and other festive events in Belfast city centre and beyond, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/christmas

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