ARABIC culture took Liverpool by storm with a riot of dance, music and film wowing crowds at the Bluecoat as a week-long arts festival got under way.

Bringing the best of Egyptian, Iraqi, Sudanese and Palestinian art to the city the Arabic Arts Festival, now in its eighth year, returned in a blaze of colour at the weekend.

The award-winning project is the only event of its kind in the UK.

On Saturday story tellers, face painters and henna artists introduced children and their parents to new aspects of Arabic culture at a family day hosted at the Bluecoat building.

On stage the Ya Raqs troupe performed Egyptian folk dances, while the Sudanese-Egyptian voodou group Rango cast their spell on the audience by playing traditional trance inducing music and passing on the secrets of the ritual Mangor dance.

The festival’s programme, which runs until July 11, includes performances of visual arts, literature, dance, film, food and music at arts venues and museums across the city.

Celebrating the diversity and accomplishment of Arabic arts and crafts a series of embroidery, mosaic and pottery workshops are planned for the week ahead.