Tunes Translated Brings 22 Nationalities to Belfast Fleadh as Footfall Tops 900,020
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 8
Tunes Translated Brings 22 Nationalities to Belfast Fleadh as Footfall Tops 900,020
1 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 8
Summary
Tunes Translated staged a Fleadh Cheoil concert on Saturday with performers from 22 nationalities, using Irish and international tunes to connect migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and local residents in Belfast.
Catherine Crean said the group swaps music from participants’ home countries with Irish tunes, calling music a universal language and saying the band has performed at events every day of its first Fleadh.
Shayan Kargaran, an Iranian pianist and guitarist, said learning Irish music helped him interact more in Belfast, while Northern Irish fiddler Susan Curran said the project opened her ears to music from Iran, Sudan, Somalia and Palestine.
900,020 city-centre visits were recorded from 2-6 August, already beating the festival’s original 800,000 attendance forecast, while the Department for the Economy said its projected £53 million boost now looks likely to be exceeded.
The wider Fleadh continued Saturday with All-Ireland competitions, street performances and fringe events, drawing 5,000 musicians and dancers from 22 countries.