Belfast’s £100m Virtual Production Studio

Belfast has long been a popular destination for movies and television filming, but Northern Ireland is set to become a ‘global hub’ for virtual production.

Part of a UK government plan to create one million jobs in the creative industries by 2030, generating £50bn for the economy, the studio will incorporate a research and development lab.

Professor Declan Keaney, interim chief executive at Studio Ulster, said: “This is a new chapter for Northern Ireland, but it’s a new chapter for the whole industry right across the UK and Ireland.

“It gives access to technologies under one roof that are currently unavailable almost anywhere else in the world. We’ve 2,000 crew here in Northern Ireland that can deliver that, but we need to make sure that they’re ready for the future and that they have the tools that they need to be able to play in that global market.”