When Buta held its first London festival, a 100-day celebration of Azerbaijani culture from November 2009 to March 2010, it was destined to break new ground for the organisation. In the five years of Buta’s existence this was the most ambitious project yet, an extended project on an international scale.

Yet there were plenty of opening night nerves. Azerbaijan, for all its long history, was little known to London audiences. Decades of isolation as part of the USSR meant that for many in England the closest connection they had to Azerbaijan was the memory of Tofiq Bakhramov, the so-called ‘Russian linesman’ from Baku who awarded England’s vital third goal in the 1966 World Cup final.

So the festival had to start from scratch to introduce Britain to the rich cultural and culinary traditions of a country that was bursting out from behind the Iron Curtain and looking to take its place in the world.

A top-notch programme of internationally acclaimed talent brought music, art, photography and poetry to the galleries and concert halls of the capital.

Buta’s first full-scale international festival ended on a triumphant note with a gala concert at the Royal Festival Hall, having garnered media attention from publications across the UK and beyond.