(Syria, 1930), the favourite poet of Rotterdam's Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, is considered a contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. After studying philosophy in Damascus, he moved to Beirut and then Paris. His most famous volume, The Songs of Mihyar of Damascus, was published in 1961. His poems, essays, letters and interviews are often translated, especially into French. He broke with the formal structure of Arabic poetry and experimented with free verse and prose poems. In Arabic, Adonis wrote: "To write poetry in this language [...] means to unveil the invisible and reveal the abyss of absence that that distinguishes us from the unseen." In his work, he distances himself from Islam but holds up a mirror to the West, which fails to honour its thinkers and poets an thereby stands in the way of mutual understanding between East and West. His first anthology of work translated into Dutch, Wat blijft (What Remains), will come out during the festival.

(Morocco, 1973) is a journalist, columnist, translator, researcher and producer. She publishes in various media (including Dutch national daily newspaper NRC and women's magazine Linda); runs her own online magazine for culture lovers, Aicha Qandisha. She compiled a story collection about Arab women, Achter de sluier (Behind the Veil, 1999); 2013 saw the publication of her book Arabieren kijken (Looking at Arabs), about "ordinary" people in the Arab world. She made TV programs for various broadcasters, including the documentary series Seks en de Zonde (Sex and Sin). Together with Michelin-starred chef Soenil Bahadoer, she wrote the culinary books Spicy Chef (2020) and Streetfood (2022). She published two further books in 2022: Een koffer vol citroenen (A Suitcase Full of Lemons), a requiem for and portrait of her mother, and Arbeidsmigranten in Nederland (Migrant Labourers in the Netherlands).

(Belgium) is a violist and cellist. He began his studies with the famous violist Pierre Penassou. Then he performed with various string ensembles, especially in the classical arena. As a member of his own group, Quatuor Danel, he played on pianist Kris Defoort's Conversations/Conservations album. He teaches chamber music at the Brussels Conservatory.

(1959) is a composer, arranger and musician whose work blends many influences, including jazz, classical and folk music from all corners of the world. He was composer-in-residence of LOD Music Theatre in Ghent from 1989 to 2013. Among other projects, he created musical theatre productions with actor and director Koen De Sutter and Alain Platel of Les Ballets C de la B. His own folk fanfare Banda Azufaifo and the heartwarming House of Hidden Tunes I & II combine various musical styles, from Mozart to Camarón de la Isla. In 2001 he won the Louis Paul Boon prize for “his social engagement and his bond with mankind, evident in his whole oeuvre.” Three years later he was awarded the Grand Theatre Festival Prize. Van der Harst was the civic composer of Ghent in 2007 and 2008. He has made various CDs, including ones featuring Christmas and New Year songs from different cultures. At the festival, he will play and create music as musician-in-residence, both making and choosing music for various programmes.

(Belgium, 1984) studied with Dina Grossberger and Katelijne Van Laethem in Leuven, and was coached by Jard van Nes and Catrin Wyn Davies. She prefers contemporary opera and musical theatre but is also very active in Baroque repertoire. Her own Baroque ensemble Bel Ayre, which was named Selected Promising Ensemble at Antwerp's Festival Laus Polyphoniae in 2011, performed at Bozar in Brussels, the Rotterdam Opera Days, and the Flanders Festival in Mechelen. She has worked as a soloist with James Wood, Erik Van Nevel, Marcel Pérès, Titus Engel, Il Gardellino, and the vocal ensembles Encantar and Psallentes, among others. She was selected for the prestigious Lucerne Festival Academy in 2014, where she sang first soprano in Luciano Berio’s Coro under Sir Simon Rattle. She has sung and created works by contemporary composers like Frank Nuyts, Thomas Smetryns, and Alain Craens, and  worked on various productions of Het Muziek LOD, Transparant Music Theatre, and the Flemish Opera. 

(Belgium, 1962) is a versatile performer. He works in various disciplines, such as musical theatre, dance, and contemporary classical and improvised music. He has contributed to productions of the Scapino Ballet, Walpurgis, Xynix, Amsterdam Theatre Group and the Spectra Ensemble. As a solo percussionist he has played the biggest venues of Europe and Australia. In Belgium, Konink mostly plays music written especially for him by composers such as Peter Vermeersch, Luc Brewaeys, Frank Nuyts, Philippe Boesmans, and Fredic Rzewski. He has played in various school programmes with Quatuor Danel as well as a percussion duet with Marcel Andriessen. As a composer, he has written theatre music for Ensemble Leporello, Teneter, and Compagnie Boktor. Konink also teaches at the Ghent Conservatory.