It's been a fairly challenging year, what with the well documented fire in North Street Arcade to contend with, the current political stasis and growing tide of race hate that has seen Belfast dubbed ‘the most racist city in the world.’

So what's the appropriate response? We're not sure, but we thought we’d just keep on doing what it is we do - put on the most culturally diverse and celebratory festival we could find.

We’ve got performances to move the soul from every corner of the globe - from Japanese Punk Rock to Canadian Trip Hop, from Turkish Star Wars to New York Style Wars. We take a look at graffiti art, comic book culture, we introduce Kid Carpet (‘the low-budget Beck’) and bring Bill Hicks back for one last rant in E minor.

And despite the continuing lack of purpose-built arts venues in the Cathedral Quarter, we’ve somehow managed to fit it all in. Sometimes putting on an arts festival can feel like a frivolous thing to do and sometimes it feels absolutely necessary. This is such a year. Enjoy the festival and, as ever, let us know what you think.