THE mayor bursts into song, the clowns dance and, most importantly, the sun beats down on the Big Top.
It has to be the opening of the 19th Galway Arts Festival, inaugurating 12 days and nights of performance, high jinks, spectacle and fluent, beguiling talk.
Setting the standard for eloquence, the chairwoman of the Irish Film Board, Lelia Doolan, officially opened the festival, warming to the crowd and to her theme, which was a celebration of creativity and change the creativity that drives what has become the biggest arts festival in the country, and the change of artistic director from Patricia Forde to Ted Turton.
Ted Turton, an English born adopted Galway man has been involved with the festival's organisation since its first year, in his capacity as a designer.
He spoke of "the beauty and mystery" of Galway and declared his intention to continue to bring the cream of international artists to the festival and to encourage local talent.
The Lord Mayor, Cllr John Mulholland, said it had been "a wonderful year for the arts" in Galway with the 21st birthday celebrations of the Druid Theatre Company.
The company had just been made a present of the ownership of the Druid Lane Theatre its headquarters for the past 18 years and two new performance bases in the city had opened.
The Town Hall Theatre in Courthouse Square opened in February and the Black Box on Dyke Road is a warehouse venue which is not yet completed. Although it is being used by Macnas for the festival's opening show. Rhymes from the Ancient Mariner, a further £250,000 is required to add facilities for performers, office space, props and set storage space and a foyer.
The mayor pleaded for help to finance its completion.
While Ted Turton promised that this would be one of the best festivals ever, the programme of events will not bear his personal stamp.
This year the festival was programmed by the entire festival board as a group.
So the next 12 days will prove whether some things can successfully be done by committee.