Young and old in queue from 1am be among first to see inside the flagship city centre shop
Lines formed outside the outlet at Victoria Square in Belfast as people rushed to grab their favourite sets.
The first customers through the new store’s doors were father and son duo, Aaron (39) and Ollie (10), from Ballynahinch, Co Down.
Aaron started queuing at 1am, while Ollie joined him at 7am. “I’m knackered now,” Aaron joked. “I knew Ollie wanted to come here so we did what needed to be done,” he said.
Despite not being a Lego fan himself, Aaron was excited to get into the store.
“It was great to be the first in, it gave us a good chance to get a look at everything,” he said.
Belfast’s Lego Store’s first customers
The pair got their hands on some Star Wars Lego sets to enjoy. “I don’t think I’ll be doing it with Ollie but his mum helps him,” Aaron said.
“He’s too strong for it — when he tries to build the bricks it just breaks,” Ollie joked.
Despite not visiting Belfast often the pair are excited to have an official Lego store here. “I don’t like the big smoke, but it’s good to have the store here,” Aaron added.
“It’s a lot better than getting sets off Amazon because you can actually see them,” Ollie said.
Daithi Mac Gabhann officially opened the store. The young organ donation campaigner and his family then enjoyed a tour of the inside.
The Belfast LEGO store officially opened today in Victoria Square, with official Ribbon Cutter Dáithí Mac Gabhann.
Adam Brown (26), from Saintfield, Co Down, works for Woodgate Aviation, the company that flies sick children from Northern Ireland to England for surgery.
By coincidence he was visiting the store at the same time as Daithi.
His dad Martin said: “Woodgate Aviation has been with us since Daithi was literally two days old and to meet one of the pilots today when Daithi was opening the store has been brilliant.
“I’m a firm believer that these things don’t happen by chance and we are so honoured Daithi was asked to open the store and then to meet a pilot — it’s just been brilliant altogether.”
The Belfast LEGO store officially opened today in Victoria Square, with official Ribbon Cutter Dáithí Mac Gabhann.
Adam is a Lego superfan and was eager to get to the Belfast store to purchase the Titanic set.
“I had the Titanic and Daithi pointed it out and I said, ‘We fly you Daithi’ and his dad was like, ‘Oh yeah you do’ and we just got talking away,” Adam said.
The pilot admits he often uses Lego to bond with his young patients.
Lego fan Adam Brown was one of the first customers in the store and purchased the Iconic Titanic set from the home of Titanic in Belfast.
.“I’ve never actually flown Daithi over myself but now I know for the future our love for Lego is something that we can bond over,” he said.
“You always try and get something to bond with the children and Lego is something a lot of them love.”
John Mailey (47) and his daughter Jenna (10) from Glengormley bond over their Lego passion. “Who doesn’t love Lego,” said John. “It’s a lot of fun, builds your creativity and gives you that sense of an accomplishment — it’s great for mindfulness too when you are older.”
Jenna and John Mailey at the opening of NI’s first Lego Store
Jenna was most excited to see the shop’s minifigure building station.
“You get to make your own minifigure whatever way you want,” she said.
John said the Belfast store makes it easier for local Lego fans to find the sets they want.
“We have been to the Dublin one once but we wouldn’t be down in Dublin a lot, so this one is a lot handier for us,” he said.
“There are other shops here where you can get Lego but nothing beats having an actual Lego store.”
The Lego store opening
Sneak peek – Northern Ireland’s first Lego store arrives in Belfast
Ryan Wallace (32) from Magherlin, Co Down, woke up early to visit the shop on its opening day. “I got the train at six this morning, so I got here for around seven so I wasn’t waiting too long but I’m glad I got in when I did,” he said.
He thinks the new store is a great addition to Belfast’s high street.
“Whenever I go to a new city I always make a point to visit their Lego store so now people can do that when they are visiting here,” he said.
Two fans, Rowan Corry (12), and Jacob Hughes (11) from Belfast were excited to grab some Lego from the new store before they have to start the new school year. “It’s just loads of fun, and you get to be creative,” Rowan said.
“I just like the builds and seeing what way they look,” Jacob added.
Jacob Hughes and Rowan Corry at the opening of NI’s first Lego Store
The pair queued for several hours to get into the store but were kept busy with mini sets and Lego passports that the store gave queuing fans to celebrate its launch.
“They were fun to build and then we just watched TikToks too,” Rowan said.