Belfast International Arts Festival launches season of events to mark milestone
Established in 1962, the city's longest-running international arts festival, reimagined and reborn as Belfast International Arts Festival (BIAF) in 2015, has announced a new extended season of contemporary arts and cultural events as it marks its milestone 60th year.
For six decades the festival has ensured that the residents of Belfast alongside its international visitors have access to the best of world class artists and events from home and abroad.
And to kick-off its 2022 celebrations, the festival has revealed a special gift to its host city, as Artistic Director and Chief Executive Richard Wakely explains.
“This is a momentous year for the festival. We look back with pride on what we have achieved, but more importantly we are seizing the moment to redouble our efforts and push the boundaries of arts and ideas; programming and commissioning events that reflect our future ambitions and embody our guiding values around global connectivity, community, accessibility, cultural diversity and collaboration.
“In a break from tradition, we are planning a captivating season of events in the months leading up to our core festival programme in October. We will launch with a spectacular, large-scale night-time outdoor performance in Titanic Quarter by French company Transe Express who audiences may recall brought us the stunning Mù in 2016. This is our gift to the city of Belfast on our 60th birthday.”
On 23–24 April, the public are invited to dance beneath a gigantic chandelier as Cristal Palace by Transe Express transforms Titanic Paddocks, adjacent to Titanic Slipways on the Maritime Mile, into an open-air ballroom complete with an airborne orchestra, aerial acrobats and sharp-witted characters. Cristal Palace is presented by BIAF in association with Belfast City Council, Circusful, Maritime Belfast Trust and Titanic Belfast.
Cristal Palace is a major free civic event that links the past, present and future of BIAF, Titanic Quarter and more widely, the city itself.
Richard Wakely explains: “Harking back to the “People’s Park” on Queen’s Island, the performances of Cristal Palace offers residents and tourists an opportunity to come together to enjoy a spectacular free outdoor event on the same site as Belfast’s very own Crystal Palace of 1851.”
Cristal Palace is programmed to align with a number of major anniversaries, including 60 years of the festival, 10 years of Titanic Belfast, 150 years of St Joseph’s Church Sailortown and 175 years of Belfast Harbour. The event is to be delivered by a partnership of like-minded organisations working together in the social and economic reopening of the city as we emerge out of the pandemic.
The two-day spectacle will be followed by a series of festival events in May, including Between Tiny Cities (6–7 May) at The MAC, an exhilarating hip hop b*boy battle between two dancers, one from Cambodia and one from Australia, and a selection of family-friendly events set to take place in July and August.
BIAF will make further announcements about its expanded 60th season in the weeks ahead, including the core festival provisional dates of 19 October – 6 November.
BIAF’s principal funder is the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and is also supported by Belfast City Council, British Council, the Government of Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Tourism Northern Ireland and a range of project funders and sponsors.
For more information about Cristal Palace and to book tickets (booking open as of 10am Friday 25 March), visit:
