Hello,and welcome to Focus on the Arts.I'm your host - Dave Green - and this is your very own local radio programme.Every Friday evening we put the spotlight on different arts and culture facilities,and look at the shows and events that are on offer in the coming week.

And today the focus is on The National Arts Centre.Now,if you don't already know it yourself,I'm sure you've all heard of it.It's famous throughout the world as one of the major venues for classical music.

But did you know that it is actually much more than just a place to hear concerts?The Centre itself is a huge complex that caters for a great range of arts.Under a single roof it houses concert rooms,theatres,cinemas,art galleries and a wonderful public library,as well as service facilities including three restaurants and a boodshop.So at any one time,the choice of entertainment there is simply enormous.

So,how did they manage to build such a big arts complex right in the heart of the city?Well,the area was completely destroyed by bombs during the war in 1940.So the opportunity was taken to create a cultural centre that would be,what they called:'the City's gift to the Nation'.Of course it took a while for such a big project to get started,but it was planned in the 60s,built in the 70s and eventually opened to the public in 1983.Ever since then it has proved to be a great success.It's run by the City Council.Both our National Symphony Orchestra and National Theatre Company were involved in the planning of the project,and they are now based there - giving regular performances every week - and as the Centre is open 363 days of the year,there are plenty of performances to choose from.