The guest director of this year’s Brighton Festival has described what she has brought to this year’s programme as well as the performances she is most looking forward to.

The festival, which launched at the weekend with the Children’s Parade, will see a wide variety of music, theatre, art, comedy and much more for over three weeks.

Musician, DJ and broadcaster Nabihah Iqbal spoke ahead of the festival’s launch and told of her excitement at sharing the fruits of the Brighton Festival team’s labour with audiences.

“I’m really excited and a bit nervous,” she said.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how the festival takes over the city of Brighton and to soaking it all up.”

Nabihah said the festival promises a wide range of musical styles, something she is passionate about.

“Obviously music is my focal point so this year’s festival has got a lot of music in the programme,” she said.

“I think it reflects my own taste, which is really broad.

“There’s something to appreciate in all the different styles and cultures and I hope people really enjoy that.

“The theme of the festival is 'gather round' and that’s a reflection of what I want people to feel when they come to the festival - a sense of community and togetherness and collective experience.

“I hope that’s something I can bring to this year’s festival.”

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She has described the festival as a “big, diverse programme of loads of different things going on”.

“There’s a mix of paid events and also free events,” she said.

“It’s a really packed programme for these three weeks in May so hopefully people will find something that they’re interested in.

“I’d also recommend people to just try out things that you wouldn’t normally try - maybe go and see a punk gig if you’re not usually into that or maybe go and see Aba Shanti-I if you’ve never experienced a dub sound system before because one of the best things about festivals is discovering new things and having new experiences.”

Asked what she is most looking forward to seeing, she said: “I’m excited to see The Sleeping Tree installation by Invisible Flock.

“And the post-punk gig with Lunch Money Life, Findom and Handle and Purple Taiko’s AV installation that’s accompanying the performances.

“I’m also really excited about seeing tlk, she’s one of my favourite artists right now. And then the heavy weights like Talvin Singh, Anoushka Shankar and Aba Shanti-I and Dennis Bovell.”