Indigenous to classical, traditional, folk, electronic and tribal, the Festival of World Cultures offers a kaleidoscopic programme of concerts & club nights, fairs & markets, dance, street events, workshops and so much more. A gigantic global feast of arts and culture!With over 220,000 people attending last year's event, the 7th annual Festival of World Cultures is proud to be one of the largest annual events in Ireland. Most importantly however, it is proud to be an event that celebrates and nurtures the culturally diverse demographic of Ireland. Maintaining its ethos of inclusion and accessibility, the Festival programme remains over 70% free to the public, welcoming all ages and walks of life.This year over 800 artists will take part in the Festival of World Cultures, with an additional 650 participants and contributors and staggering 350 volunteers. 150 events and performances representing over 80 countries will take place in 40 venues throughout Dún Laoghaire town, ranging from Uzbekistan and Mali to Mexico and Iceland.This year's programme offers the most eclectic range of concerts, performances and events to date. Along with the spectacular Global Village in association with Oxfam, the energetic World Dance Plaza and the People's Park kaleidoscopic programme of performances and workshops, we are delighted to introduce some new programme highlights - Cool Earth an eco-fair in association with the County Council's Environmental Awareness Programme and Cultivate, and to celebrate the reopening of the newly developed Royal Marine Hotel projection artists Emilio and Sebastian Arteaga from Uruguay team up with Sainkho Namtychlak from Tuva to present a brilliant outdoor audio-visual projection show entitled 'Façade ~ Art of Noise'.

In particular, we are delighted to announce the inaugural Dún Laoghaire Mela; the Republic of Ireland's first ever festival dedicated to the celebration of the arts and culture of the South East Asia.Along with these exciting programme highlights we are delighted to announce that for the fifth year running RTÉ will commission a television feature 'Highlights of the Festival of World Cultures', produced by Paradise Pictures, which will be broadcast in late August, please see press for details.On behalf of Jane Davy the Festival Manager, the staff, crew and volunteers of the Festival of World Cultures and the Arts Officer Sharon Murphy, we would like to extend our warm welcome and hope that you enjoy this year's programme, we wish you all a terrific weekend!