CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL

Name

CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL

Legal name

Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival

Website

https://cqaf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts & Cultural Festivals

NAICS

Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Music & Dance Festivals (Non-Commercial/Local) (MPAGAEAH), Community Theatre & Storytelling Festivals (MPAGAEAI), Food, Drink & Culinary Community Festivals (Community-Led) (MPAGAEAF), Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA)

Keywords

• Arts festival programming
• Live music events
• Comedy theatre performances
• Literature film screenings
• Cultural arts events

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Box Office Revenue: Ticket sales for festival events including music, comedy, theatre, literature, and film performances across multiple venues.
2. Sponsorship Income: Corporate sponsorship including title sponsorship, artform sponsorship, and key event sponsorship. Income evenly split between self-generated and public funding.
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of festival merchandise including hoodies, t-shirts, and gift vouchers.
4. Public Funding: Funding from Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, Tourism Northern Ireland, and Northern Ireland Executive. Income evenly split between self-generated and public funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival produces and presents multi-arts festivals of music, comedy, theatre, literature, film, and visual art across approximately 25–30 venues in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter. Its flagship May festival runs 11 days with 150+ shows, complemented by a 3.5-week January lunchtime programme (Out to Lunch) and an autumn film strand (Now Press Play). Ticket-based events are sold directly to the public, with the organisation additionally offering creative bursaries for emerging artists, official merchandise, and gift vouchers.

Product overview

Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival operates as a multi-festival arts organization running three core festivals: the 11-day Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival (CQAF) in May, the 3.5-week Out to Lunch Festival in January, and the Now Press Play film program. The organization also offers merchandise (official T-shirts and hoodies), gift vouchers in denominations of £10/£25/£50, and premium Golden Tickets providing all-event access. Additional programs include Creative Bursaries for emerging artists and a Video Archive of past performances. The festivals showcase music, comedy, theatre, literature, and film across approximately 30 venues in Belfast, with ticket prices ranging from affordable lunch shows (£6-7) to premium experiences (£125 Golden Ticket).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Now Press Play: Film festival programme under the CQAF umbrella, featuring film screenings, documentaries, and cinema events.

Products and services

• Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival (CQAF) The flagship annual multi-arts festival held in May for 11 days, featuring music, comedy, theatre, literature, and film across approximately 30 venues in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter, attracting audiences of around 62,000 in recent editions.
• Out to Lunch Festival A 3.5-week winter festival held in January featuring lunchtime and evening shows in comedy, theatre, literature, and music, with shows and hot lunch bundled at affordable prices (around £6–£7).
• Now Press Play Film festival sub-programme under the CQAF umbrella, featuring documentary screenings, film discussions, and cinema events typically held in October alongside the main festival calendar.
• Festival Merchandise (T-Shirts and Hoodies) Official festival merchandise including limited edition T-shirts and hoodies featuring festival branding, sold at £15 each in Small, Medium, Large, and X-Large sizes.
• 2026 Festival T-Shirt Limited run official 2026 Festival T-Shirt designed by Keith Connolly of Tonic Design, priced at £20 including postage and packaging to UK addresses.
• Gift Vouchers Gift vouchers available in £10, £25, and £50 denominations that recipients can redeem against show ticket purchases through the festival website.
• Golden Ticket Premium festival pass offering access to all events excluding shows at The MAC, priced at £125 and contributing to ongoing festival development.
• Creative Bursaries Annual bursary programme supporting emerging artists and creators, with awards for Creative Bursaries in 2024, 2025, and 2026 to support experiment, innovation, and accessibility in new work.
• Video Archive Archive of past festival performances and events available for online viewing, including CQAF2021 and OTL2021 video archives.

Quantifiable outcome

• 62,000 festival attendees for May event, 14,500 for January Out to Lunch Festival

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Visit BelfastcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial ticket reseller with physical location at 9 Donegall Square North, open 7 days a week.
• TicketsolvecoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary box office ticketing platform for online ticket sales and event management.
• The MACcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey venue partner - major cultural hub in Belfast hosting festival events. Part of 25-30 venue network.
• Black Box BelfastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor venue partner hosting music, theatre, literature, comedy, film and visual art performances in Grade II listed building.
• St Anne's CathedralcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric venue partner for concerts, part of unique approach to using unorthodox spaces.
• Oh Yeah Music CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMusic hub partner providing rehearsal space, live venue, and music exhibition. Co-presenting events like 30 Years of Fugees The Score.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Manchester International Festival: Biennial UK multi-arts festival producing original work across music, theatre, dance, and visual art. Comparable in curatorial approach (mixing established and emerging artists, distinctive venues, public funding reliance).
• Latitude Festival: UK multi-arts festival featuring music, comedy, theatre, literature, and film. Comparable as a multi-artform festival targeting similar arts-enthusiast audiences with family-friendly programming.
• Brighton Festival: Major UK multi-arts festival featuring music, theatre, literature, and visual art across multiple venues. Comparable in scale, multi-venue/multi-artform format, and reliance on public funding and box office.
• Hay Festival: Multi-arts/literature festival spanning UK and international locations. Comparable through CQAF's literary programming component and its similar model of public-private funding and ticketed programming.
• Belfast International Arts Festival: Another major multi-arts festival based in Belfast presenting music, theatre, dance, and literature. Directly comparable as the primary competitor for Belfast arts audiences, venues, and public funding within Northern Ireland.
• Out to Lunch (CQAF's sister festival): CQAF's own January lunch-time festival sub-brand combining comedy, theatre, literature and music with affordable lunch bundles. Internal peer demonstrating CQAF's capability to extend programming year-round.

Regional players

• Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics: Belfast-based ideas and culture festival with similar civic-regeneration objectives rooted in post-conflict Belfast. Comparable peer for shared mission and audience overlap in Belfast.
• Cork International Film Festival: Regional Ireland film festival directly comparable to CQAF's Now Press Play film sub-programme. Useful peer for the film component of CQAF's programming.
• Féile an Phobail (West Belfast Festival): Belfast's largest community arts festival with similar public-funding model and post-conflict regeneration mission. Comparable peer competing for the same Belfast audience and arts funding.

Broad incumbents

• Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The world's largest multi-arts festival and a key source of shows that tour to CQAF (CQAF explicitly showcases Edinburgh Fringe hits). Comparable as the dominant UK multi-arts festival that CQAF positions itself alongside.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/cqafestival
• Facebookfacebook.com/cqafestival
• Instagraminstagram.com/cqafestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cathedral-quarter-arts-festival

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL