Herald section
Recent reporting and significant records from the Herald archive.
It is announced that Boucher Road Playing Fields in Belfast, which has hosted gigs by artists and groups such as Bruce Springsteen and Snow Patrol, is to return to use as sports fields and the community, it is announced.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs confirms two suspected cases of blue tongue virus in cattle at an abattoir in Bangor, County Down, the first to be discovered on the island of Ireland.
The Riverside Theatre at Ulster University's Coleraine campus, billed as Northern Ireland's oldest professional theatre outside Belfast, is set to close in August after 50 years.
The Eden Project cancels a planned appearance by Kneecap at its 2025 Eden Sessions festival in July.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs confirms that bird flu has been found in three wild birds in Northern Ireland, the first occurrence of the illness in the wild since 2023.
A statue of musician Rory Gallagher is unveiled at Belfast's Ulster Hall.
The Cabinet Office announces that eight British towns will become cities as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. The new cities are Milton Keynes, Colchester, and Doncaster in England, Dunfermline in Scotland, Wrexham in Wales, and Bangor in Northern Ireland, as well as Stanley, Falkland Islands, and Douglas, Isle of Man, which become the first towns in the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies, respectively, to receive city status.
28 year-old tattoo artist Aidan Mann is stabbed and killed in Downpatrick.
The Northern Ireland Executive delays the reopening of theatres and pubs that do not serve food, postponing the 1 September date due to an increase in transmission of the virus.
The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to reduce social distancing from two metres to one metre from 29 June, as well as a raft of other lockdown easing measures for Northern Ireland. These include reopening betting shops on 3 July, reopening of close contact services such as spas and tattoo parlours on 6 July, reopening indoor gyms and playgrounds from 10 July, reopening libraries from 16 July, resuming competitive sport from 17 July, reopening bingo halls and arcades, theatres and cinemas from 29 July, and reopening indoor sports facilities, leisure centres, skating rinks and soft play areas from 7 August. In addition, indoor spectators at sporting events will be allowed from 28 August, and open air museums can reopen from late August.
Public broadcasters in Ireland, Slovenia, and Spain announce that they will not air the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in protest over Israel's participation amid the Gaza war.
This year's Wireless Festival in London, England, is cancelled and all tickets are refunded after its headliner, American rapper Kanye West, is banned from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office on the grounds that "his presence would not be conducive to the public good" amid controversy over his past antisemitic comments on Jews and Adolf Hitler, and his association with neo-Nazis.
Sarah Mullally is enthroned as the first female primate of the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury.
The King Charles III England Coast Path, the world's longest coastal footpath, is formally opened by Charles III.
A police report in New York formally reveals English street artist Banksy's identity as 51-year-old Robin Gunningham from Bristol, England.
Ireland launches a permanent basic-income programme for the arts that pays 2,000 creative workers €325 (US$387) per week for three years, following a government trial that began in 2022, and which culture minister Patrick O'Donovan describes as the first permanent scheme of its kind worldwide.
Sarah Mullally is confirmed as the first female archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Church of England.
Iceland announces that it will join Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Slovenia in boycotting next year's Eurovision Song Contest in Austria in protest of Israel's participation.
Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, and the Netherlands announce they will boycott next year's Eurovision Song Contest after the European Broadcasting Union confirmed Israel's participation.
The Winter Egg, one of the few Fabergé eggs remaining in private hands, sells at Christie's in London, England, United Kingdom, for £22.9 million (US$30.2 million), setting a new auction record for a work by the House of Fabergé.
King Charles III dedicates a memorial to LGBTQ members of the Armed Forces at the National Memorial Arboretum in Lichfield, Staffordshire, United Kingdom, on the 25-year anniversary of the end to the country's ban on gay servicemen.
Bishop of London Sarah Mullally is announced as the new archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.
The BAFTAs are held at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England. The Brutalist and Conclave win the most awards, with four each, while the latter also wins Best Film.
The City of London Corporation proposes a bill to close the 19th-century Billingsgate Fish Market in Billingsgate and Smithfield Meat Market in Smithfield, City of London, United Kingdom, by 2028.
Romanian author Mircea Cărtărescu wins the International Dublin Literary Award for his novel Solenoid, translated by Sean Cotter.
The University of Edinburgh in Scotland, United Kingdom, returns the remains of four Paiwan warriors to the Taiwanese indigenous community, marking the first international repatriation of ancestral remains for Taiwan. The skulls, which the university acquired in 1907 and are believed to have been taken by Japanese forces in 1874, will be housed at the National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung while awaiting a final resting place decision from Mudan authorities.
Austrian painter Gustav Klimt's last completed oil painting, Lady with a Fan, sets a new European art auction record when an unnamed art dealer buys it for £85.3 million (US$108.4M), including the buyer's premium, at Sotheby's in London, UK.
Loreen, representing Sweden, wins the Grand Final in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with the song "Tattoo". It is Sweden's 7th win, and Loreen's 2nd, making her the first woman to win the contest more than once.
The 76th British Academy Film Awards are held in London, with the German film All Quiet on the Western Front winning the most awards with seven, including Best Film.
The Irish Dancing Commission, Ireland's governing body for Irish dancing, appoints a former judge to investigate claims of prominent dance schools and teachers fixing competitions.
The state funeral of Elizabeth II is held in London, United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom is announced as the host of next year's Eurovision Song Contest in place of this year's winners, Ukraine, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The United Kingdom, represented by Sam Ryder, finished in second place, behind Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra, at this year's competition. Ukraine will still automatically qualify for the grand final.
The United Kingdom is asked to host next year's Eurovision Song Contest after its organisers concluded that Ukraine is not capable of hosting the competition.
The platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II commences at The Mall in London.
Artefacts from the Battle of Magdala taken in 1868 are returned to Ethiopia by the United Kingdom.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson marries political activist Carrie Symonds in a private ceremony at Westminster Cathedral. Approximately 30 people were in attendance.
The official funeral service takes place for Prince Philip, prince consort of the United Kingdom to Elizabeth II. The Duke's body is led in a limited procession to St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, for interment in the Royal Vault.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, dies at home in Windsor Castle aged 99. He was the longest-serving Royal Consort of the United Kingdom.
Dublin cancels their annual Saint Patrick's Day festival for the second year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will instead be held virtually on a special online TV channel.
The 61st Venice Biennale in Italy opens to the public without a jury after the jury quit in protest of Israel's and Russia's participation and loud protests outside their pavilions.
Pavilions at the 61st Venice Biennale close after artists go on a strike in protest of Israel's entry into the event organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance over Israel's role in the Gaza war.
Anti-Israeli protests are held outside the Park East Synagogue in New York City, U.S., after the synagogue hosted the Great Israeli Real Estate Event, an expo for land sales in both Israel and the occupied West Bank.
On World Press Freedom Day, Afghan journalists launch the Kabul Times News media outlet in exile in France amidst media restrictions in Afghanistan.
Over 100,000 Muslims worship at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Temple Mount, East Jerusalem, after it reopens for the first time after Israel closed the site at the start of the Gaza war.
For the first time ever, Israel Police block the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during Palm Sunday, citing heightened risk in the Old City during the Iran war.
The 67th Grammy Awards are held, with Kendrick Lamar's diss track "Not Like Us" winning all five of the awards it was nominated for, including both Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter album wins Album of the Year, while Chappell Roan wins Best New Artist.
U.S. President Joe Biden signs a bill making the bald eagle the official national bird of the United States.
20 Days in Mariupol (directed by filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov), a documentary that focuses on the siege of Mariupol during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, wins an Oscar for Best Documentary.