Ireland - The Festival of World Cultures will be held in Dun Laoghaire (Ireland) August 25, 26, and 27. With over 150 artists and groups from around the world descending on Dun Laoghaire for three days at the end of summer, the annual Festival of World Cultures has become a perennial favorite for lovers of world music and intercultural 'craic'.

Now in its 6th year, the three-day, all-weather Festival of World Cultures is Ireland's largest intercultural celebration. Entertaining audiences in excess of 200,000, the Festival, a Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council event, features more than 160 events in 40 venues and showcases artists from 50 countries over the three-day period.

This year the Festival whips up global music, street theatre, dance, club nights, markets, exhibitions, workshops and activities for children. From Colombian cumbia to Moroccan Gnawa and Johannesburg jive, gospel rappers to punk-rock folk, intercultural speed dating to Tibetan folk dance, the Festival of World Cultures creates global beats and community events for all ages.

With participating artists from Algeria, Tibet, Sudan, Israel, Cuba, Poland, Niger, Russia and Mexico audiences can sample a planet of diverse cultures without leaving Ireland.

"Anyone who still believes that Ireland is mono cultural needs look no farther than Dun Laoghaire at the end of summer to see how global the country has become." For those that cannot make it to Dun Laoghaire, highlights of the Festival will be broadcast on RTÉTwo sometime in September.

The full program will be announced in July 2006. For further information visit www.festivalofworldcultures.com.