Some of you have been getting in touch via our contact form (on the left here) to tell us your experiences of the Fleadh in Belfast.

Mark says: "Loved the atmosphere. Great to see people from all traditions there."

Susan says: "Went in on Thursday parked in Castle Court, found a disabled bay and off to the Fleadh. Smooth journey - well done to everyone involved."

And Hugh says: "A fantastic occasion and a credit to all visitors as to how clean the streets are, free from rubbish."

A Belfast councillor has called for more support for homeless people as the Fleadh continues in the city.

Paul McCusker says more must be done to help people sleeping rough, as homeless people have been "pushed to the peripheries of the city centre".

He said homeless services had dealt with five overdoses since Sunday, adding: “When people are being moved on it’s more difficult for services to link with them.

"We are seeing more people in Botanic and more people around Queen's University," he told the Nolan Show this morning.

The Housing Executive say: "26 crash beds are available in Belfast each night for immediate, short-term support while longer-term options for individuals are explored."

McCusker is curious as to what happens next - "Is that person going to return to the streets?”

He said: “Moving people on does not solve the issue... It is trying to cover up a major issue we have in Belfast in terms of homelessness and addiction."

Belfast City Council says a multi-agency approach is in place to ensure support continues to be available for vulnerable residents as the visitor numbers increase.

The PSNI say their "officers will be present to support public safety" and that they will work to "ensure appropriate safeguarding arrangements are in place for vulnerable people".

Mark Simpson
BBC News NI

More than 300 campervans and caravans are parked beside Belfast’s famous yellow cranes.

It’s an official site for overnight stays during the Fleadh.

The shipbuilding cranes - nicknamed Samson and Goliath after Biblical giants - date to 1969 and 1974. They have become emblematic of the city, and everything from keychains to plantpots shaped like them are purchasable.

Mike McBride
BBC News NI

Image source, Down Right Musical Trio

The Down Right Musical Trio, made up of Jack Rogers, Conor Collins and Bernard Goodwin, are celebrating a remarkable journey that began with online music lessons during the Covid-19 pandemic and has led to them performing at this year’s Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.

The three musicians, who all have Down’s syndrome, share a passion for traditional Irish music and have been supported throughout their musical journey by the Foyle Down Syndrome Trust.

Speaking on BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme, Conor Collins said they thoroughly enjoyed their performance in Belfast and that many people in the crowd were incredibly supportive. Jack said that, despite performing in front of a huge audience, they were surprisingly not nervous.

He added that playing music is the best way to relax.

Darran Marshall
BBC News NI

Some people we spoke to didn't know the Fleadh would be on in Belfast when they came for other things - but they were happily surprised.

Christine Lennanis fromFraserburgh, north of Aberdeen, and travelled for 15 hours to get to Belfast.

It’s Christine’s first time in the city and she says she’ll definitely be back.

She didn’t know the Fleadh would be on when she booked but says “It’s been great. It’s brilliant – music everywhere, lovely, really enjoyed it.”

Karen Burns, from South Shields, in north east England, is on her first visit to Belfast.

A Manchester United fan, she crossed the Irish Sea to visit George Best's family home.

“It’s amazing. It's like being at home," she says.

"Everybody is brilliant and friendly. They help you. I’m getting lost and I’ve asked for directions, ‘oh I’ll show you’, it’s brilliant. The whole place is fantastic.”

Barry O'Connor
BBC News NI

If you've walked through the city centre this week, there's a fair chance you'll have seen people performing, from céilí bands to marching bands and Irish dancing, there's something for everyone.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Pacemaker

In general the Fleadh has been hailed as a success for Belfast, including in the way it has incorporated Protestant and unionist traditions in to its marching band events and at the City Hall - more on that here.

But there have been a few discordant notes too.

On Thursday a food business apologised after it was heard to play a pro-IRA song.

A spokesman for the business, a food van, said they were "absolutely devastated" when they realised a playlist they were playing contained the song, which they played "unintentionally".

The campaign group Let's Talk Loyalism lodged a complaint about the incident and requested that organisers condemn it, and Moore Holmes from the group told the BBC's Evening Extra programme on Thursday that he wanted the council to review the matter and the Fleadh to condemn the incident.

"I think it would be very beneficial for the Fleadh to come out and condemn this," Holmes said.

"If you tolerate it when it's small then it grows into something that it shouldn't be."

Some politicians also spoke out against what had happened.

MLA Brian Kingston wrote to the city council, saying: "There is a great deal of positive activity this week and it is essential that council ensures no tolerance of those wishing to promote or excuse terrorism."

A statement from the business read: "The team were playing a public playlist and due to their busyness in the truck, didn’t notice when the inappropriate song came on."

Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann wrote in a statement that they "do not support any behaviour or music that could cause offence or intimidation".

If you're not able to make it to Belfast, check out our YouTube documentary looking back at the first few days of the Fleadh.

BBC News NI's Jamie McColgan meets young people from the Ed Sheeran Foundation as well as the band Wilde Rose.

You can watch it below.

Belfast has just come through a week that people are already calling historic.

The Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann has brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets for a festival of Irish music and culture hosted in Belfast for the very first time.

On Talkback today, presenter William Crawley brought together guests to ask what it says about Belfast right now, and whether this could be a real turning point for the city.

He spoke to Glenn Miller, from the Belfast Bands Forum, Professor Duncan Morrow from the Ulster University, Irish-language teacher and activist Linda Ervine, and Irish News columnist Chris Donnelly.

You can listen below.

Barry O'Connor
BBC News NI

Music and pints both flowed in the city centre at lunchtime today.

Dry weather allowed this session to spill out onto the cobblestones and even as competitions were happening in venues around the city centre, craic was mighty in and around the pubs.

This weekend is only to get busier!

John Campbell
BBC News NI economics and business editor

At the start of the week, Northern Ireland's economy minister was saying the Fleadh could bring in £53m; by the end of the week, she thought the boost to Belfast would be more than that.

It will take some time to get a full estimate, however.

When assessing the impact of an event like the Fleadh, economists try to work out the ‘additionality’ - the extra economic impact which has only occurred as a result of the event.

That is more complicated than just multiplying the number of estimated visitors by an estimated amount of spending per head.

They have to assess ‘deadweight’ - the tourist spending that would have happened anyway and ‘leakage’ - the spending with leaks away from Belfast to businesses based elsewhere, such as international drinks companies.

There is also the impact of ‘reallocation’ - spending by local people which simply moves from one business to another and ‘displacement’ - spending which doesn’t happen such as people choosing not to do their usual city centre shopping during the event.

The Fleadh has characteristics which means it is good at generating additionality:

• it attracts people from outside Belfast and NI
• it happens over a week which helps drive spending on accommodation
• it is decentralised with spending across multiple businesses

The Fleadh was part of Derry’s Capital of Culture in 2013 and a post-event analysis found that it was by far the most significant event in generating additionality across that year.

Read more on the economic projections here.

Catherine Morrison
BBC News Northern Ireland reporter

There's a queue of people already waiting to get in to the grounds of Belfast City Hall. Those inside have come prepared, with camping chairs and picnics.

This afternoon there's a céilí, some cross-cultural music and two well-known groups: TRIP and Lúnasa - line-up here, external.

The Fleadh is a festival of Irish music and culture, so fiddles, tin whistles, bodhráns and accordions predominate.

But some musicians are bringing a more international flavour to proceedings, with instruments including the rubab and the daf.

The charity Beyond Skin invited some musicians to perform traditional instruments from their home countries.

Soraya Hoesseini, originally from Afghanistan, plays the rubab, which is her country's national instrument.

"It’s not just about music," she says.

"It’s about a connection between people and different cultures here.

In every corner of the city there are musicians from different cultures. I have met with musicians connecting through Persian, Syrian and Irish musical cultures"

Sara Fotros, who's originally from Iran but living in London, plays the daf, a drum that is played with the hand, rather than a stick. She has been learning from local musicians whilst visiting.

"I had the opportunity to meet bodhrán players and play with them and learn some new techniques from them.

"Throughout this week I’ve noticed how much Irish people love music and they’ve been very really welcoming… they’re not only interested in the music that I play but the culture I come from also.”

Patrick Magee
BBC News NI

Image source, Coco Belfast

Ed Sheeran appears to have been making his way around Belfast this week from shaking cocktails behind the counter at a restaurant, to leaving a coffee shop on the Lower Ormeau Road with one of their pastel de natas.

Image source, Nata Coffee House

There’s just one catch… these visits are all AI-generated creations from local businesses joining in on the trend, inspired by rumours the singer could make an appearance at the Fleadh.

So far there's no sign of the real Ed - but the AI version is certainly keeping busy.

Image source, Honey Co. Coffee

As the Fleadh kicked off this week our radio programmes have been out and about taking it all in.

Good Morning Ulster was broadcast live from the gig rig at Belfast City Hall and presenter Sarah Brett was joined by a range of guests including Niall McClean, who has been instrumental in bringing the Fleadh to Belfast, and Lauren Smyth, a former principal lead dancer with Riverdance.

Listen below as Sarah began by asking Niall about the significance of the Fleadh taking place in Belfast.

The city centre has been buzzing since the arrival of the Fleadh last Sunday.

More than 176,000 people were in the city centre for the opening ceremony - an increase of 95% on the same day last year.

Organisers had expected 800,000 to visit but say it looks like they may now pass exceed that number.

Take a look at some of the crowds that have soaked up the atmosphere.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Pacemaker

Finn Purdy
BBC News NI

Mary Jo McCanny from Visit Belfast said she hoped that many of the first-time visitors to Belfast for the Fleadh would return.

“We know already that our visitors when they come they have an amazing time and so many of them say they’ll come back but I think this will really strengthen that.

“I think the experiences that they have on the ground today for a cruise passenger or for a few days for somebody just coming for the Fleadh, they’ll definitely bring people back.

She added that the Fleadh was the “biggest event that the city has ever hosted”.

“We are expecting loads and loads of visitors, an estimation of about 800,000 visitors, but I think already we are ahead of the game with that.

Have you ever heard a trad version of Pink Pony Club?

As Belfast city centre is pedestrianised, pubs have been setting up outdoor stages and crowds have been gathering to listen to musicians.

We took this video of crowds on High Street in Belfast at around 11pm dancing to a trad version of Pink Pony Club.

Less than a week ago, Scottish singer Cammy Barnes performed to millions of viewers across the world when he sang a duet with Australian singer Delta Goodrem at the Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony in Glasgow.

Later tonight, he'll perform a free gig at Custom House Square. It's at 18:20BST, tickets are not required and it'll be first come, first served.

"I’m buzzing to get over to Belfast for the Fleadh," he told BBC News NI.

"It's one I've been excited to play for a while.

It's been an incredible few weeks, so to get the chance to keep that momentum going in a city I love is something I'm really looking forward to."

Image source, PA Media

Peter Coulter
BBC News NI live page reporter

A few weeks ago, a lot of people in Northern Ireland probably had never heard of the Fleadh or could tell you anything about it.

But since the festival started last Sunday, the streets have been packed, everywhere you look someone is playing a musical instrument or a session seems to have popped up out of nowhere.

The streets have been pedestrianised and old buildings that have been derelict for decades have been brought back to life for this week as temporary pubs move in. The buses are packed as well, getting a Glider home last night at 11pm felt more like a London tube at rush hour than Belfast at the end of the night.

Northern Ireland's First Minister said everyone she meets says the city is just "buzzing" and things are really just getting started.

There are hundreds of gigs and concerts planned for today and the rest of the weekend. Northern Irish artists like Foy Vance and Ryan McMullan will be performing free gigs in the city centre but that's just sample of what's going on.