The Belfast Mela was created in 2007, by ArtsEkta, Northern Ireland’s leading ethnic arts organisation. It has since become established as an unmissable highlight in BelfastÕs festival line-up and has rapidly reached status as Northern Ireland’s largest multi-cultural festival, attracting a collective number of 50,000 visitors over three years. Although Melas traditionally have a strong south-Asian focus, ArtsEkta have adopted the concept with a unique multi-cultural focus with the festival promoting a large number of cultures through the arts.