A striking new mural has been unveiled on the Telegraph Building in Donegall Street to celebrate Belfast's musical heritage and mark four years since the city secured UNESCO City of Music status — still the only place on the island of Ireland with the designation.

Commissioned by Belfast City Council, the piece spans a range of styles and genres and was created by artists Friz and Gerry Norman.

"This mural really sums up the vibrancy and colour music brings to our city, whatever genre you're into," said Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tracy Kelly.

"Since we received our UNESCO designation in 2021, there's been a phenomenal amount of work done with our local musicians, venues and industry professionals to support their development and creativity and to maximise this accolade for the benefit of all those who work with, and enjoy, live music."

"It's fitting to see this mural completed during the Sound of Belfast Festival, which features events at 27 venues city-wide until 16 November, and this week's NI Music Prize event, celebrating the very best of our local artists. The addition of late-night buses to the city centre later this month will also provide another boost to our music scene, making travel to and from gigs more accessible and affordable, not just for music fans, but for those who work in the gig economy also," she added.

The piece joins Belfast's growing catalogue of street art, much of which has been supported by the council. "So much good music has come out of Belfast over the years. It's great that this is recognised by UNESCO, so why not celebrate it?" said Friz (Marion Noone). "We had the design lined up from last year and myself and my husband Gerry worked on the mural for 16 days. It was a challenging wall - a real labour of love - as the scale is massive, but it's been a very rewarding project and a topic we're both passionate about."

The mural forms part of the council's Music Matters programme, which invested £400,000 in the local scene over the past year. Recent initiatives include the Pathways into Music conference to equip tutors and teachers, a WorkPlus internship scheme offering four paid placements with festivals and events providers, and NI Venues Day with the Music Venue Trust to champion local spaces.

Ongoing support also covers the Gradam Ceoil bursary for traditional musicians with the Duncairn and TG4, and a micro-bursary with Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival that last year awarded up to £1,000 each to 20 individual artists.

Events backed in 2025 include the second Soultrane Festival in February, an all-ages reggae and ska event at March's Imagine Festival, the Output industry conference in September, LyndonFest community festival in September and this week's NI Music Prize.

Partnerships range from the Gig Buddies scheme, improving access to night-time entertainment for people with additional needs, to Sounds Atypical with University of Atypical, enabling nine musicians to deliver accessible, disabled-led events, alongside collaborations and exchanges with fellow UNESCO Cities of Music in Hannover, Germany, Ontario, Canada and Daegu, South Korea.

A sustainability toolkit for the sector will soon be available on the Music Connections website (musicconnections.com), with new programmes in development for young people, disabled music fans and local music businesses.

More information on support for Belfast's music scene is at belfastcity.gov.uk/music, and via @belfastmusic on Facebook, @ourbelfastmusic on X and @belfastmusic_scene on Instagram.