The Bermuda Festival will go online this year with more than a dozen local artist highlighted alongside performers from five other nations.

A Festival spokeswoman said the Virtual Festival 2021 will include 14 Bermudian artists along with online performances of the play Wings of Courage by Mad River Theatre Works and a series of piano concerns organised in partnership with the Bermuda Piano Festival.

The virtual piano performances will feature pianists from the US, Georgia, South Korea and Mexico.

The performances will air between May and December and will be free to stream.

Cindy Campbell, executive director of the festival, said: “The Festival felt that it was in a unique position to provide a mental break to the community during these challenging times.

“The performing arts can help sooth our souls and provide a needed escape.”

The Festival will also continue its outreach programmes with a series of virtual sessions intended to educate, entertain and inspire the island’s youth.

Outreach artists will include a range of performers – some of whom are scheduled for the 2022 Festival.

The spokeswoman added: “At the beginning of the pandemic, The Bermuda Festival’s objective was to survive until it could once again provide live shows.

“Thanks to the generosity of foundation, corporate and individual donors, the festival is able to produce this Virtual Festival for 2021.

"The performing artist community has been struggling and for the most part has been unable to perform for over a year.

“Events such as this Virtual Festival are important not only to provide relief and an escape for the public but also work for the artists who have been trying to figure out how to survive and what to do next.”