The Maldron Hotel has been declared the overall winner of LQ BID’s 2026 Inter-Company Pétanque Tournament. Now in its fourth year, the annual summer tournament brought together over 240 competitors from 40 different organisations across Belfast’s Linen Quarter. The grand finale, held on the piste at Blackstaff Square, saw the Maldron Hotel face off in a tense showdown against runners-up in Invest NI. The hotel secured a triumphant 13 -8 victory, claiming the coveted pétanque title and winning a £300 voucher for the Observatory bar at the Grand Central Hotel.
The tournament has become a firm fixture in the district’s summer calendar, and its return forms part of a £160,000 investment in Linen Quarter BID’s 2026 events programme aimed at enhancing the opportunities, vibrancy and health of the region. The events continue to encourage the Quarter’s contemporary office’s to be more than a place of employment but a community of team-work and social interaction within their organisation and beyond.
The annual competition also builds on LQ BID’s ongoing commitment to revitalising the district’s underused or derelict spaces. The installation of the dedicated piste in 2022 helped breathe new life into Blackstaff Square, paving the way for pétanque to become a popular team-building activity for local businesses and a fun, accessible opportunity for members of the public to get active.
In partnership with Belfast City Council and the Department for Communities, LQ BID has been working to revitalise Blackstaff Square since 2020. In addition to the installation of the 43-meter outdoor social FLAXX deck alongside enhanced lighting and seating, the pétanque piste has become a central component in beginning the area’s evolution into a more sociable and vibrant destination at the heart of Belfast.
Chris McCracken, Managing Director at LQ BID said, “Blackstaff Square was once a space overshadowed by persistent anti-social behaviour, but our sustained investment and commitment are helping to rewrite that narrative. Our placemaking initiatives have played an important role in this change, with enhanced cleansing and policing helping to create a safer more welcoming environment. Alongside these measures, the introduction of outdoor decking, lighting, planting, and pétanque, help reshape the area into a more animated community space for residents, workers, and visitors. However, this is only a temporary fix, and securing long-term capital funding remains essential to properly transform the space. With a shared commitment from the Department for Communities and the City Council to renew the Square, the focus now turns to finalising the design work and advancing it into the planning stage.”
Since its inception in 2018, LQ BID has delivered £5 million worth of improvements across more than 50 projects. In addition to Blackstaff Square, this includes “Great Expectations” – a £500,000 investment, co-funded by DfC and the City Council, that refreshed Great Victoria Street and Dublin Road with deep cleans, security features, street art, planting, and a renewed green space at Bankmore Square. After 25 years of dereliction and decline, the area now has three major building projects in construction, with a further five planned.
