MORECAMBE will become the backdrop for a weekend of quality culture from across the globe next weekend.

That is when the annual 'Worldbeat' festival kicks off in the resort - transforming the Platform into a dance and performance hall for themed indoor concerts and adding a free outdoor stage for locals to chill out to a series of strange and exotic rhythms.

Worldbeat has already built up an enviable reputation, but this year looks set to be the best yet, say organisers.

Starting it all swinging at noon next Saturday, August 23, will be African music stars Hohodza Band and the energetic fabulous dancing Queens, now based in Manchester.

The African original group emerged in 1992, featuring a polished group of 10 male players and dancers and five glamorous dancing queens combining traditional music with a combination of low bass and newly composed beats.

Dubster's Nucleus Roots will be on stage giving tracks from their third album 'Universal Love' the live treatment from 3.45pm next Saturday, with a mix of real instruments, a heavyweight sound vibe and a positive message.

Charismatic former front men T Carthy and Glen Latouche, of the original reggae folk fusion band Edward II, feature on Saturday evening, followed by Misty in Roots, one of England's finest reggae groups, while Sunday begins with music from Chouchenn, whose musical roots are in central France, Brittany and Sweden.

Also on Sunday is Belshazzar's Feast, formed in the autumn of 1995 in Newbury, and She'Koyokh, London's new Klezmer Ensemble presenting Eastern European wedding music in the traditional style of the 19th century.

And rounding it all off are Beskydy with the music of Czechoslovakia, Bohemia and Slovakia, and Kepa Junkera, the Basque country's top young musician with his diatonic accordion (trikitixa).

Full festival details are available in a 'Worldbeat' programme available now at local Tourist Information Centres or at The Platform. The ticket hotline number is 01524-82803