Though you wouldn’t have known it from the programme, which once again features performers and artists from across the world, or the launch event, which had a smattering of speeches and arresting musical performances.

In fact, most people will probably find it hard to tell the difference between this year’s festival and the previous 40-odd events which have become a feature of Northern Ireland’s cultural calendar.

But this year it has a new name, the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s, a new logo and, crucially, a new corporate sponsor.

It is the Ulster Bank’s sponsorship which ends a period of financial uncertainty for the event.

After the 2006 festival, Queen’s University had said it could no longer afford to bankroll the festival while government was unwilling to plug the gap on a long-term basis.

Insiders said – far from being an idle bluff to secure funding – there was a very real threat of the festival being axed as the cash crisis loomed.

With an interim payment to ensure the 2007 event went ahead, and a three-year grant to secure its short-term future, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure insisted that the festival needed to seek out commercial sponsorship rather than relying on public money.

That sponsorship came earlier this year with the announcement that Ulster Bank would be the principal sponsor, a move which secures the festival in the medium term.

Ulster Bank chief executive Cormac McCarthy, said yesterday: “Our relationship with this festival goes back over 20 years, and it has blossomed this year.”

And he said the bank was “proud of its investment”, which would enable the festival “to bring arts events of the highest calibre to the city of Belfast and beyond”.

The sponsorship has allowed this flagship event to continue without the impending threat of financial hardship.

“It is the biggest performing arts event in Ireland and one of the biggest in Europe – it plays a significant role in the city, and provides a window to the world where we can display Northern Ireland,” Mr McCarthy added.

“This year’s festival offers audiences access to an exciting programme of both Irish and international talent.”