LUMINARIES in the arts are in town for the Singapore Sun Festival, the 10-day annual arts and lifestyle festival beginning on Saturday.

Oscar-winning Australian actor Geoffrey Rush, English soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Brazilian jazz musician Sergio Mendes and Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra were on hand to meet reporters at the festival's press launch at the Fullerton Hotel on Friday.

They will be performing in the festival's programme of more than 90 events, the first of which is a sold-out gala concert at Esplanade Concert Hall tonight.

At the press conference, Mr Barrett Wissman, the chairman of International Management Group (IMG) Artists and founder of the Sun Festival, noted that despite the economic downturn, the arts scene is thriving.

'Ticket sales are double those of last year...Maybe people are not concentrating so much on money, maybe they want to enjoy life a bit more, to forget about what's going on in the world,' he said.

Highlights of the festival, now in its second year, include performances by the Vienna Boys Choir, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a wine auction gala dinner to raise funds for charity and cooking demonstrations by chef Charlie Trotter.

At the launch on Friday, Dame Kiri spoke about her projects in mentoring young and struggling opera singers. 'I come from humble beginnings and know how harsh this industry can be,' she said.