The event builds on the hugely popular international 2002 and 2004 Diaspora Music Village festivals and is set to become a regular date in London's cultural calendar.

The long-established Music Village festival presents a special Weekend featuring outstanding musicians from London's wide range of diaspora communities. The event builds on the hugely popular international 2002 and 2004 Diaspora Music Village festivals and is set to become a regular date in London's cultural calendar.

The weekend features a fabulous selection of world-class performers, all now based in the capital. Confirmed groups include:

MoMo Moroccan digital and roots; Fuerza Vallenata accordion-led Afro-Colombian music; Anatolia Turkish and Kurdish folk music; the Ethio Traditional Band traditional music and dance from Ethiopia; Afghan drummer Yusuf Mahmood and his percussion ensemble; London School of Capoeira Brazilian dance, music and martial arts; Burning Bush Klezmer and Sephardic music; Mukka Romanian doina and Balkan dance music; Tuup Guyanese storyteller; Abdullah Chhadeh Syrian qanun virtuoso with his group Nara; Congo Ba West African malinke rhythms; Loch Lir traditional Irish jigs and ballads; Waeil and the River Nile Band violin-led sharqi music from Egypt; Conjunto Sabroso pan-Latin salsa ensemble; London African Gospel Choir. (Check website for Saturday and Sunday line-up and additional bands not confirmed at time of going to press)

The weekend offers audiences free entry to London's newest World Cultural Heritage Site. Kew's exquisite natural spaces and magnificent botanical collections provide a stunning backdrop to this profusion of musical talent.

The DIASPORA LONDON Music Village is organised by Cultural Co-operation, an independent arts charity that promotes cross-cultural contact, dialogue and understanding.

The DIASPORA LONDON Music Village is also set to feature performances at world music bar Darbucka and live slots on Resonance 104.4 FM during the week of 20-24 June 2005.

For more details and to request free entry vouchers/leaflets and to join Cultural Co-operation's FREE MAILING LIST visit www.culturalco-operation.org