Belfast, Northern Ireland – 29th June 2026
In a historic first all twelve cities came together in Belfast today for the first time ever for the inaugural Summit of the Cities. Cllr Mary Hilda Cavanagh, Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny Council represented Kilkenny at the event, where she met with the island’s eleven other Mayors.
The event marked the first time ever that civic representatives of every city on the island – including Lord Mayors, Mayors and Chairs – came together to discuss share challenges, opportunities for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and partnership between urban centres across Ireland. The events partner was supported by BCF Lending, Ards & North Down Borough Council, Belfast City Council, Intertrade Ireland, NIE Networks & Queen’s University Belfast.
From Waterford City in County Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city, to Bangor, Co Down, its newest, civic leaders, policymakers, business representatives, academics and international experts travelled to Belfast for the event.
The Summit explored topics including arts & culture, cross border trade, housing and regeneration, smart cities & AI. The event also welcomed a number of distinguished international speakers, including former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and former Cabinet Office Second Permanent Secretary Sue Gray, who shared insights drawn from their experience at the highest levels of city government and public administration.
Speaking following the event, Carl Whyte, Partner at MW Advocate one of the Summit’s organisers said:
“With a combined population of nearly 2 million people, Ireland’s twelve cities are its cultural, social and economic heart and bringing them all together today for this historic event marks the start of a new era of friendship and collaboration.
“From cities with populations in the hundreds of thousands and budgets measured in the hundred millions, to smaller cities whose names are woven through our history, our cities face many of the same challenges and opportunities. What unites everyone here today is that we all want the cities of our island to be the best places in Europe to live, work and visit.
Nearly 250 attended the event, which also included an address from the directly elected Mayor of York and North Yorkshire David Skaith. The Summit organisers plans for the future include the event becoming an annual discussion:
“What’s clear is the energy and commitment of those leading cities to drive their success and for that reason we’ll be announcing plans for the Summit of the Cities 2027 later in the year,” added Carl.
