[8] The carnival parade routinely brings together over 20,000 participants for a colourful, musical procession with specially-designed floats representing a chosen theme, dancers and children in costume and face-masks.

The station initially broadcast across Belfast for two one-month periods in the spring and summer, during which young volunteers were professionally trained in media and management skills for free.

[13] During the 15 August 2021 event, DUP councilors called for public funding to be stopped due to pro-IRA chanting during The Wolfe Tones performance.

Notable acts include Altan, Brian Kennedy, Mary Black, the Afro-Cuban All Stars, the Harlem Gospel Choir, Westlife and Status Quo.

Local poets and writers have read their works on the same podium as renowned authors such as Patrick Mc Cabe, Roddy Doyle and Evelyn Conlon.

The festival has hosted the works of Ireland's leading playwrights and theatre companies, and has been the launching pad for world premiers, such as Frank McGuinness's Someone Who'll Watch Over Me and Marie Jones' A Night in November by Dubbeljoint Productions.