Creator of The Wire Belfast bound

Ross Carson
BBC Radio Ulster

British actor Dominic West leads the cast in the hit US drama

David Simon, the creator of the cult US TV series The Wire, is coming to Belfast.

He's to headline the Guardian Hay Festival in the Ulster Hall at the end of May.

Led by British actor Dominic West, The Wire shows Baltimore life from drug users to politicians to local journalists.

Some critics have hailed it as the best TV drama ever made.

Mr Simon is a former journalist and has worked on other acclaimed shows Homicide: Life on the Street and Generation Kill.

Hollywood legend Tony Curtis is the other big name attending the festival.

Founded in 1987, the Guardian Hay Festival, is an annual event in Hay-on-Wye, a small Welsh town with a population of 1,300.

The festival is made up of over 400 events over a period of 10 days, including public interviews and talks with figures from the worlds of literature, politics, art and music.

Past speakers have included Sir Paul McCartney, Bill Clinton, Stephen Hawking, Jamie Oliver, Eddie Izzard and President Jimmy Carter.

Hay in Belfast is the first time the festival has made a sortie out of Wales to anywhere else in the UK or Ireland.

Founder and Director of the Hay, Peter Florence, said that having been based in a rural Welsh setting for so long it was "great to have a city connection".

On a previous literary tour here Mr Florence said he'd had " the most amazing reception" and that he'd always wanted to come back.

Describing Simon and Curtis as American Superstars he said Tony Curtis had never been to Belfast before but was "hugely looking forward to it" and that David Simon's writing on Baltimore was relevant to all our big cities including Belfast.

As one of the world leaders in its field, Hay has created international festivals in other parts of the world since 2006 including Colombia and Spain.

New projects for 2009 include Beirut 39 in Lebanon and Storymoja in Kenya.

David Simon will be at the Ulster Hall on Sunday 31 May, 6.30pm, tickets £10 from the Ulster Hall or Waterfront Hall.