Belfast Lord Mayor Councillor Micky Murray has welcomed Belfast International Arts Festival's 62nd edition with a bumper five-week programme of events taking place city-wide this autumn, featuring artists from 16 different countries across five continents.

The festival returns from October 16 – November 23 with a new season of contemporary arts and culture in over 30 venues across Belfast and features the very best international and homegrown artists from the worlds of theatre, dance, music, visual arts, literature and film. This year’s programme boasts a truly international line-up of artists from across Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Asia.

A key feature of this year’s edition is the diverse range and number of creative partners involved in the programme, including Belfast 2024, the 175th anniversary of the Belfast School of Art at Ulster University, RNIB, Féile an Phobail, UNESCO City of Music, Eastside Arts and Outburst Arts.

Festival Chief Executive and Artistic Director Richard Wakely says: “Belfast International Arts Festival is a window to the world. This year’s programme is hugely diverse, which we believe really reflects a contemporary, cosmopolitan Belfast and embodies our mission to bring people together, to promote international understanding and social cohesion, and to celebrate diversity through the creative arts. In partnership with our many creative and community partners, we’ve worked to create, produce and present an autumn season of inspiring artistic experiences that highlight the very best of our city and country and we hope to see audiences embrace all that this year’s bumper festival has to offer.”

An exhilarating line-up of new theatre shows lead the festival’s opening, including the premieres of The Tragedy of Richard III, a Lyric Theatre production of the timeless Shakespearean tragedy adapted by Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney; Yerma, a dark and seductive telling of Lorca’s powerful tragedy set in contemporary Ireland, adapted and directed by Patrick J O’Reilly for Tinderbox Theatre; Aurora: A Modern Myth, a new work which challenges audiences to rethink their relationship with nature, by Dominic Montague for Prime Cut Productions; and, fresh from its hugely successful off-Broadway run, The Vanishing Elephant by Cahoots, an epic tale of friendship and adventure that features extraordinary on-stage puppetry.

The festival’s customary schedule is extended into mid-November to include several special events celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Belfast School of Art at Ulster University, including talks from Colin Davidson, Alice Maher and an evening of reflections on the enduring legacy of German artist Joseph Beuys in Northern Ireland from Dr Sandra Johnson and Anna Liesching. Outburst Queer Arts Festival and Ulster Presents will host Mixtape #1, a new collaboration with one of Belfast School of Art’s most acclaimed graduates, Phil Collins.

For more information, to view the full programme, or to book tickets, visit belfastinternationalartsfestival.com.