The Galway Arts Festival celebrates its 21st Birthday this year with its most extensive and ambitious programme ever. From 11th to 26th July visitors to the City of the Tribes can experience the very best in Irish and international visual and performing arts.

A truly spectacular line-up of music, film, literary events, visual art, comedy and children's events is promised amounting to

sixteen days and nights of non-stop cultural activity. Over 60,000 people are expected to attend ticketed events with tens of thousands more viewing the free open air events and attending the extended line up of visual arts exhibitions.

The festival kicks off with a free open air spectacular featuring the famed Kodo Drummers from Japan. A twenty strong group, the Kodo Drummers play every kind of drum from a small snare to a giant drum measuring over four feet wide and weighing more than 800 pounds. Based on the ancient art of taiko drumming, Kodo's music has been described as "timeless and awe inspiring," and is not to be missed.

Among the theatrical events lined up this year are acclaimed productions such as Titanic staged by Theatre Titanick from Germany, which has been hailed by the critics as a masterpiece. The huge liner is reconstructed in front of the audience, launched and sets off on its fateful voyage. The production combines spectacular images and atmospherics to create a stunning spectacle. Also featured this year is the Circus of Horrors, a spectacular show which combines rock music with dare-devil circus stunts and a touch of the bizarre. First performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 1995 there are motor cycles on high wires, chain saw jugglers, a girl who can squash herself into a bottle (!!) and even a direct descendent of Vlad the Impaler.

Festival favourites, the French-based Footsbarn Theatre company return with two Irish premiers - Shakespeare's Winters Tale and Moliere's Don Juan, while local company Macnas will be presenting their world premiere of Pat McCabe's dark tale of madness and insecurity, The Dead School.

Of course Galway Arts Festival wouldn't be complete without the famous Macnas Parade and this year the Galway-based group will be hosting their very own Carnival of Fools. Celebrating the day Quasimodo was crowned King of Fools in Paris over five hundred years ago, it promises to be a license for the entire population of Galway to celebrate buffoonery and to subvert tradition. You have been warned!

Music has always been an essential element in the Galway Arts Festival line-up and the music programme at this year's Festival features literally hundreds of singers, songwriters and musicians from all over the world encompassing rock, pop, dance, jazz, blues, soul, country, R&B, traditional and classical.

The Big Day Out on Sat July 11th at Castlegar Sports Ground features headliners Pulp, along with The Beastie Boys, Garbage, Ian Brown, and Cornershop, while The Guinness Rhythm Route features scores of gigs taking place at venues around the city. Highlights here include appearances by ex-Throwing Muses chanteuse Kristin Hersh, ex-Waterboy Mike Scott, The Saw Doctors, ex-Alarm frontman Mike Peters and former Daintee, Martin Stephenson, as well as gigs by blues player Kelly Joe Phelps and acid jazz outfit, Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers.

Traditional music is also well catered for in Galway this year with acts as diverse as Kila, Andy Irvine, Cathal Hayden, Solas, Sean Keane, Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill.

Meanwhile comedy is also strongly featured in the programme with the GPO Comedy Club hosting Martin Big Pig and Ross Noble while Tommy Tiernan & Gerry Mallon appear at the Warwick Acoustic Room (dates to be confirmed).