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Newspapers and Magazines written for include: The Observer |
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The following article was published in The Observer in September 2000. Escape Guide to the Belfast Festival at Queen's. Seth Linder previews the UK's second biggest arts jamboree. The Victorian industrialists who left such an indelible mark on Belfast would probably have disapproved, but the city they helped to shape will soon be alive to flamenco and fiesta, while tapas and sangria will feature alongside the Ulster fry and Guinness in many of its restaurants and bars. Spanish and Catalan culture is the theme of the 38th Belfast Festival at Queen's University, Ireland's biggest arts festival and, after Edinburgh, the second biggest in the UK. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend its multitude of events between 27 October and 12 November. The festival was founded in the early Sixties by a group of academics at Queen's who modelled it on Edinburgh's example. It has grown to become a vital, vibrant part of Belfast life, a chance to show off a city that does not always enjoy the best publicity. Something of a cultural beacon during the Troubles, particularly in the turbulent Seventies when even local people were reluctant to venture into the city centre, the festival has also played a significant role in the regeneration of Belfast's image. Festival time, indeed, is the perfect introduction to Belfast. 'There is,' says festival director Rosie Turner, 'a real buzz about the place.' It is a city which will surprise and delight those who know it only from the TV news. Those industrialists would not feel too alienated if they returned today. A Victorian grandness and solidity still begins at the magnificent City Hall and radiates outward through elegant city buildings such as the restored St George's Market and the recently extended Linen Hall Library to many suburban streets of Victorian and Edwardian terraces. But take a boat trip down the River Lagan and you see a new city emerging. That reassuring giant of Belfast life, the Harland and Wolff shipyard (where the Titanic was built), may still dominate the harbour skyline but on either side of the Lagan there are signs of new development. Where Victorian warehouses once stood, there are fashionable waterside apartments, the strikingly designed concert venue, the Waterfront Hall, and a new Hilton hotel. High-quality hotels are springing up at an extraordinary rate, and good restaurants, a rarity at the beginning of the Nineties, are now easily found. There are many smart new bars and chic cafes, particularly along the Lisburn Road - the Ta Tu bar and restaurant is only the smartest and latest - and along the 'Golden Mile' from Great Victoria Street, where Robinson's is a big attraction, to the university area. Thankfully, there are also a host of marvellous pubs little changed from Victorian days. The Crown Liquor Saloon, opposite Belfast's most famous hotel landmark, the recently expanded Europa, is surely the most beautiful Victorian pub anywhere, while White's Tavern (Belfast's oldest), the Fountain Tavern and Kelly's Cellars are also worth a visit. Traditional music sessions can also be found in two other atmospheric old pubs, the Rotterdam and the Kitchen Bar. About a third of Northern Ireland's 1.6 million people live in Belfast, but it rarely feels crowded, even in the busy shopping centres. The laid-back nature of the locals helps - this is a city where you're treated as a welcome visitor, not a tourist to be suffered - and many attractions are within comfortable walking distance. The city has moved on remarkably since the peace process began, though there are tours to the loyalist and republican heartlands in West Belfast. Belfast is also enjoying its first film festival (Cinemagic, which begins in early December) and the first phase of the Odyssey, Northern Ireland's main millennium project, opens in November. It includes a 10,000-seater sports and entertainment arena, state-of-the-art science and technology museum, an Imax cinema and a huge shopping centre. But the main event remains the festival at Queen's. There are a number of special festival breaks on offer, and many hotels have special weekend rates. But a longer stay will be amply repaid. The sheer breadth and quality of the festival offerings, including leading Irish and overseas theatre, dance, comedy, classical, jazz and folk music, staged at 20 venues around the city, offer the perfect opportunity to give Belfast the attention it deserves. |
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