A band of musicians who fled to the UK as refugees from places as diverse as Iraq, Uganda and Bosnia have taken part in a unique musical collaboration that has kick-started Refugee Week.

English folk star Eliza Carthy joined the group for the performance, which was arranged to show the cultural contribution refugees can make to the UK, at a London festival.

We would not be the country that we are today if it was not for immigrants and refugees

Eliza Carthy Musician

They had just two days to rehearse each other's traditional music before playing to a crowd on London's South Bank at the start of the Refugee Week activities on Sunday, 16 June.

It was designed to demonstrate what immigrants can put back into society, to counter the public perception of refugees as a drain on the UK.

And the experiment was a great success, according to Carthy, who is an acclaimed violinist.

"We would not be the country that we are today if it was not for immigrants and refugees," she told BBC News Online.

Tea Hodzic was a pop star in Bosnia

"I would like it to be known as a country that is generous and hospitable, I really would. You're supposed to entertain the stranger.

"If you don't accept people, then you're just never going to have any meaningful experiences. I'm sorry, but that's the way I feel."

The musicians she was thrown together with - known as the "Celebrating Sanctuary All-stars" - were all successful artists in their home countries before they were forced to flee for the UK.

They included singer Tea Hodzic, who was a pop star in Bosnia, Polish Roma accordionist Bronislav "Vanja" Krazczyk and a Kurdish harpist and singer, Tara Jaff, from Iraq.

They all took one piece of music into rehearsals, and had to overcome barriers of language and style to adapt their pieces for the global group's debut performance.

Ugandan Joseph Nsubuga plays with the band Impala

Carthy said it was a shock for the group to have to play a song from Kurdistan, followed by a tune from Congo and one from Shropshire.

"It is a challenge, without a doubt, but everybody really rose to it and everybody was seriously absolutely lovely," she said. "Everyone pitched in and got down to it."

Despite being more used to playing English folk violin, Carthy - the daughter of musicians Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson - also had a go at singing in Congolese and Bosnian.

Most of the music "just fell into place", she said, although they had to change Jaff's song - which turned out to be one of the highlights - to slow it to a pace that everyone else could match.

"It's a really inclusive piece of music," Carthy said.

Polish Roma accordionist Vanja spoke little English

"It doesn't sound European, but it doesn't sound Kurdistani either. It's just what she is today. She's been living here for 26 years and this is the sort of music that she makes as a result of it."

The collaboration was also part of a major BBC Radio 3 project, World On Your Street, which is bringing the UK's diverse rhythms to a wider audience.

Carthy said everyone involved in the performance was eager to make it work, and "there were no big egos flying about", she said.

"I'm glad to be doing it with such unselfconscious musicians - people that aren't notably affected by the global pop music thing.

"It's good to be working with traditional musicians who are very relaxed in their cultures, very relaxed in their music and their abilities, and very happy to have a new experience."

The group will now perform at the Womad world music festival in July - and could go on to form a more permanent band after Carthy releases four albums this year.

"It would be a good band if we got something together," she said. "We need a bass player, but apart from that I think we make a good noise."