All the events for the first night of this year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival will be free of charge, it has been revealed.

Organisers made the announcement and unveiled the list of events today in Hill Street’s Black Box Theatre.

The festival, which takes place from May 3 to May 13 in a range of venues in the Cathedral Quarter area, will feature a whole host of events including a free concert featuring Duke Special and Foy Vance with the Ulster Orchestra as part of the opening celebrations.

Festival Director Sean Kelly, said: “It’s well known that one of the barriers to participating in the arts is ticket price so for our opening night we decided to remove that barrier altogether with a host of free events in the city.”

The opening night – ‘The Big Night Out’ – will be followed by ten days of the best national and international acts including top literature names Will Self, Joseph O’Connor and John Cooper Clarke as well as a literary bus tour of Belfast to celebrate local writers.

A number of comedians will also be on hand to provide laughter, including Tony Robinson aka Baldrick from Blackadder, in a comedic talk about his career. Other stand-ups will include Richard Herring and Glaswegian landlady turned comedienne, Jane Godley.

Theatre highlights of the festival include the world premier of Henry & Harriet by Carlo Gebler and the acclaimed satire Peace and Reconciliation (How the money was spent – The Opera!).

The festival is renowned for its eclectic musical events, and this year will not disappoint. Folk legend Loudon Wainwright, The Sadies and Ska Cubano are only a few of the international music highlights on offer.

Irish traditional music will also be showcased with the likes of Planxty legend Andy Irvine, The McPeake Family and Terri Hooley.

Local contemporary talent like Oppenheimer, The Jane Bradfords and Kowalski will feature at a special weekend, while the Sound and Vision category will show live concert footage of Bob Dylan (1965) and Van Morrison (1980) as well as a number of other documentaries.

With a range of special events like the first ever Tea dance with a Twist and the Art Tours of the Cathedral Quarter, there is something for everyone.

For further information or to book tickets log on to www.cqaf.com. Tickets will be on sale from today - phone: 028 90246609 or call in to the Belfast Welcome Centre at 47 Donegall Place, Belfast.

(JM/KMcA)