Latest news with #OrmeauPark
The Guardian
11-06-2025
- The Guardian
Country diary: A horse chestnut that knows a bit about risk and reward
Ormeau Park is Belfast's oldest municipal park, but it was once the country estate of the second Marquis of Donegall (1769-1844). An inveterate gambler, the marquis retreated here to escape his creditors in England, finally taking up residence to spend his life surfing his debts. Belfast's expansion in the 18th century had led to widespread deforestation, and this may have inspired the once-modish name 'Ormeau' – from the French ormes au bord de l'eau, meaning 'elms by the water'. After all, mature elms were sufficiently scarce by this time (long before Dutch elm disease) to have been a status symbol. Below the Lagan's old riverbank, where rakish young elms are still growing, I look across the grass that used to be marsh or mudflats. Next to the park railings, as if shaped by early trauma, an aged horse chestnut tree leans firmly away from the river that's now below the embankment – a perilous position, given that any surge of the Lagan would have inundated this ground. Could this stooped grandee have survived being almost drowned? Although the embankment wasn't completed until after his death, the marquis began landscaping here in the 1820s. If he planned to locate a horse chestnut there, the risk fits with his reputation. He would also have been following a fashion that established the horse chestnut as one of our most beloved trees – the species is native to the Balkan peninsula but, starting its journey as a 16th-century gift of the Ottoman empire to Vienna, its beauty gradually 'conkered' all of Europe. After he died, the marquis's bankrupt estate was sold off, setting off a chain of events that ultimately brings me here. As I approach the horse chestnut, I tread a brown mulch of petals that only a few weeks ago were the dazzling cream and pink inflorescences that light up the species' spring foliage. They have left behind twigs lobed with the next generation, in among the dark green of the large, hand-like leaves. I reach up and touch a young fruit. Its spikes are soft and pliable. They'll harden as the fruit ripens. Come autumn, I'll revert to childhood and scour the leaf litter for the seeds, those richly gleaming conkers. But I'll leave them to take their chance. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
BBC News
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Belsonic: Charli XCX, Snow Patrol and Stereophonics among Ormeau Park headline acts
More than 100,000 music lovers are expected to gather at Belfast's Ormeau Park in the next few weeks for Belsonic. The annual outdoor music festival kicks off on Thursday night and runs until the end of the month. The first headliners are Welsh band Stereophonics. "Hopefully it doesn't rain. We'll be all right.... we've got our raincoats," lead singer Kelly Jones told BBC Radio Ulster's Vinny & Cate show. Jones said a recent world tour proves they are not a band that relies on "being a phase" from the 1990s and that their music "is still appealing to new audiences". "There are kids in the front row," he added. Who is playing Belsonic 2025? Snow Patrol, Alanis Morissette, Charli XCX, the DJ BLK and Justin Timberlake are among a host of other big names set to take to the stage this Classical, featuring the Ulster Orchestra, are headlining on Saturday while Catfish and the Bottlemen are performing the following Saturday (15 June). Justin Timberlake will perform on 26 June, supported by Jess dance music fans, the Boiler Room will see Dutch DJ and producer Chris Stussy team up with KETTAMA, a DJ and producer from Galway, on 28 June. Alanis Morissette will wrap up the festival on 30 June. Festival Director Alan Simms said when deciding on the acts they aim for "a broad range of music that appeals to as broad a range of people as possible". He said personally he was looking forward to seeing Snow Patrol as they had been trying to get them for many years but for "diaries and for other reasons it hasn't panned out" in the past. What time does Belsonic begin and end? The gates at Ormeau Park will open at 18:00 BST and close at 21:45 says the curfew is usually about 23:00 BST but times will be posted on social media on the day of the event. How do I get to Belsonic by public transport? Translink says while there will be no special shuttle buses in Belfast for the gigs, scheduled Metro bus services connect with Ormeau you are travelling from the north west, special Goldliner coach services are operating from and to Foyle Street Buscentre in Londonderry for all of the events, with the exception of the Madness concert. There will also be additional rail services running throughout information is available here. Ormeau Park road closures Ormeau Embankment is set to be closed from Ravenhill Road to Ormeau Road from 16:00 BST on the dates of the will remain closed for a period after each concert, so the public is asked to be aware of this if arranging a safe collection about accessibility parking and facilities during Belsonic are available here. Are there age restrictions for Belsonic gigs? The Lush Classical, BLK. and Boiler Room gigs are strictly over 16s only and Belsonic says valid ID will be 16s can attend all the other performances, but will require a parent or guardian who is also a ticket holder to accompany them. There are also some age restrictions on who can enter the front standing section.
