Belfast Festival at Queen's
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The Belfast Festival at Queen's is a yearly arts festival held in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
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[edit] History
Held annually, usually in November, the festival is primarily run by Queen's University Belfast. Founded by a student called Michael Emmerson in the 1960s, as of 2006 the festival is in its 44th year. In 2006 the festival was directed by Graeme Farrow. Stella Hall, head of Culture and Arts at the university, was the former festival director.
From small beginnings the festival grew through the 60s and 1970s, expanding to a two week long event. Performers during this time included Jimi Hendrix, Laurence Olivier, Rowan Atkinson and Billy Connolly; the latter two long before they were famous.
[edit] 2005 festival
In recent years the festival has expanded further and now claims to be the largest arts festival in Ireland, showcasing local talent as well as international artists.
The 2005 festival took place between 21 October and 6 November, and covered theatre, politics, dance, classical music, literature, jazz, comedy, visual arts, folk music and popular music. Guests included Harry Hill, Joanne Harris, George Galloway, Robert Fisk, Louis Theroux, Grandmaster Flash, Rich Hall, and theatre productions of Romeo and Juliet and A Clockwork Orange. BBC Northern Ireland provided comprehensive radio and television coverage of the Festival, principally through Festival Nights on BBC2, presented by William Crawley.
[edit] 2006 Festival
The 2006 festival programme was launched on September 7 2006 at Queen's Film Theatre. The 44th festival ran from October 19 to November 4. Performances included Jose Cura, a celebrated musical theatre company from South Africa and the world music 'kings' of "rumba flamenca".
Speaking at the Waterfront Hall launch, 2006 festival director Graeme Farrow said:
"Belfast Festival at Queen's aims to refresh the parts that other events throughout the year can't reach and we are confident that the 2006 festival programme - further details of which will be released in the coming months - will set a high benchmark for years to come."
[edit] Funding crisis
In January 2007, it became clear that sufficient funding was not in place to ensure that the 2007 festival would go ahead, and the university launched a 'Save Belfast Festival' campaign, encouraging people to petition Maria Eagle MP, who is the minister responsible for cultural activities in Northern Ireland.[1] The campaign received support from the Belfast Telegraph and celebrities including Patrick Kielty.[2] On 16 February 2007 the Minister announced a £150,000 one-off payment to the Belfast Festival at Queen's, although the campaign to raise more funds is continuing.[3] The university has subsequently announced that the 2007 festival will go ahead, albeit on a reduced scale, but that work is still required to secure its long-term future.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Patrick Clarke, Letters: Join campaign to help save Belfast Festival, Belfast Telegraph, 15 January 2007, accessed 16 January 2007
- ^ Star Kielty stands up for festival, Belfast Telegraph, 19 January 2007, accessed 3 March 2007
- ^ Festival remaining on life support, Belfast Telegraph, 19 January 2007, accessed 3 March 2007
- ^ Belfast Festival at Queen's to continue at least in 2007, Queen's University Belfast press release, 6 March 2007, accessed 10 March 2007
