Belfast Festival at Queen's 2012 line-up announced

Ladysmith Black Mambazo are among the acts performing at the Belfast Festival

The line-up has been announced for this year's Belfast Festival at Queen's, which celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Among the headline acts performing between 19 October and 4 November are Van Morrison, Buena Vista Social Club, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Ray Davies.

The festival began as a small event on the university's campus, and managed to keep going throughout the Troubles.

Betty Craig, who was its assistant director between 1973 and 1986, said it had been an "annual beacon of light".

"It was very difficult to get artists to come here, so we had to have a brassneck," she said.

"I used to go over to London and literally knock on agents' doors."

She said the reluctance of many artists to come to Northern Ireland meant they had to take a creative approach to booking guests.

"I was fortunate enough to know the Hong Kong festival director and he invited me over there to attend," she said.

"The Hallé orchestra were on the same plane, and by the time we arrived in Hong Kong, I'd got them to sign a contract to come to us the following February."

Previous festivals have included names as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Billy Connolly, Kylie Minogue and Rowan Atkinson, and its current director, Shan McAnena, said it was the "largest and most eclectic arts festival in Ireland".

"There is music in shopping centres, churches and museums, comedy at the heart of Queen's University, theatre in offices, public baths and bars, and art in the open air," she said.

The organisers say that because they want everyone to get involved with the 50th anniversary celebrations, the festival includes 60 free events and tickets for two-thirds of shows cost less than £15.