A year of royal visits, business successes, commemorations and celebrations in Lisburn
This year has seen some ups and downs for Lisburn and its people but there have been some highlights that have really made people smile.
With visits from the Royal family, success for local businesses, celebrations and commemorations across the city, 2025 has been a year to remember.
The Royal family are no strangers to Lisburn, with their Northern Ireland home at Hillsborough Castle. Lisburn was delighted to welcome Queen Camilla to Atlas Women’s Centre in March.
Crowds lined the streets to get a chance to see the special guest, who joined Atlas’ Stitching and Sewing Group, speaking to those who benefit from Atlas’ services and programmes.
Animal lovers across Northern Ireland were closely following the case of Max the dog, a stray found in Dundonald and taken into the care of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council.
For months there was real fear the dog would be put to sleep after being named as a banned breed. However, following a court case, there were celebrations when Max was saved and he has now settled into his new home, much to the delight of dog lovers across the city.
In May the city held a host of events to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
With activities and workshops for children, a tea dance in Market Square, a remembrance service, and commemoration events in local communities, the city came together to mark the end of the Second World War in Europe.
Later in the year, commemorations were also held to mark the anniversary of VJ Day.
Businesses were thriving in Lisburn throughout 2025, with one local cafe hitting the headlines after introducing ‘dirty sodas’ to the city.
Made popular in the United States, Froth brought the phenomenon to Lisburn and after catching the eyes of popular social media influencers, it became a huge success, with queues out the door as people waited to sample the drinks.
For 14 years Froth, which is run by mother and daughter team Karen Campbell and Bethany Stevens, has been popular with local residents but in 2025 it gained new fans as its dirty sodas spread across social media.
"It’s nice to see people coming back multiple times, that’s what means the most to me,” Bethany commented.
There were also successes for many local people, including CBBC star Gyasi Sheppy who celebrated the release of his debit children’s book ‘But Dancing is for Girls’.
Gyasi is hoping ‘But Dancing for Girls’ will be the first of many books in the series, however he is also looking forward to continuing his career as a presenter, with ambitions to become the next big television personality.
This is sure to be just the start of Gyasi’s career as an author as he bid farewell to CBBC.
“I love this industry and I love what I do,” Gyasi commented. “There are so many things I want to do and now is the time.”
These are just a few of the stories that hit the headlines in 2025 and without a doubt there will be more successes and notable occasion to celebrate in 2026.