The Belfast Festival started out in the 1960s as a small campus event held at Queen s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was organized by a young student named Michael Emerson. From then on, it continued to earn acclaim that after ten years it started to attract eminent personalities such as Jimi Hendrix, Dizzy Gillespie, Laurence Olivier and Ravi Shankar.
Amid the political upheaval of the 1970s the Belfast Festival helped bring about progressive change in the cultural renaissance of the city, revitalizing its cultural and arts scene. In the 1980s, Michael Barnes assumed directorship of the festival and it was during this time that the festival was expanded into a two week long celebration. Celebrities like Billy Connolly, Rowan Atkinson and Michael Palin took part in the festivities.
The festival also started to feature performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Moscow State Ballet, among others. The festival is known for its staunch advocacy of local work, paving the way for local artists and performers to be introduced and be recognized by the international community.
The festival brings together the best in theater, classical music, comedy, visual arts, dance, folk and popular music, literature and jazz. Each year, the festival features cultures from many different countries like France, the United States and South Africa.
For 2008 the festival celebrates its 46th anniversary coinciding with the centennial celebration of Queen s University. It will commence with the Ulster Bank Opening Concert on October 17.
Highlights from past Belfast Festivals:
Belfast Festival 2007
Although the 2007 festival was threatened by a scarcity in funding, organizers were able to celebrate its 45th year and once again were able to secure the festival s reputation for bringing out the best that the UK culture has to offer.
The government awarded the organizers a 150,000 pound grant to help cover expenses. The Arts Minister, Edwin Poots also pledged a grant of 300,000 pounds over the course of three years for the festival. Highlights from this year s celebrations include Ute Lemper s cabaret performance, music from the Tiger Lillies, an adaptation of Macbeth and a performance from Raphael Bonachela a choreographer who works with Kylie Minogue. Other guests include John Prine, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Sean Hughes and Bill Bailey.
Belfast Festival 2006
The Spiegeltent, an art nouveau pavilion that showcased first rate performances ranging from global musical entertainment to comedy presentations was one of the main features of this year s festival. Another highlight was the performance of Jose Cura, one of the world s leading tenors. In this year s festival, the organizers also presented Crackers, a combination of spectacular fireworks display and musicals as well as other live performances. There were over 15 participating countries in the festival including Somalia, Sweden, Norway, United States, France, Cuba, Spain, Argentina and Russia.
Belfast Festival 2005
This year s festival opened with a concert featuring Marianne Faithful along with the Ulster Orchestra. Other noted performance was that of Lithuanian production of Romeo and Juliet, an adaptation of A Clockwork Orange and traditional Irish music from the band, Dervish.
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