Jones, who first toured the Middle East and North Africa in 1953 with the jazz musician Lionel Hampton, said: "I have long been a vocal proponent of music and the arts being a great asset in building bridges between people and cultures."

The programme on May 21 here was yet another feather in the hat of the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi which has in the last two years unleashed cultural diplomacy. The cultural diplomacy has seen holding of a first-ever Bangladesh Film Festival in the Indian capital a year ago and screening of films by directors like Zahir Raihan.

Watched annually by more than 100 million people, Eurovision is the world's most-watched non-sporting event. Although viewership in Britain and Ireland has declined for several years, the backlash against Eurovision may finally be changing on the British Isles.

Summer festivals and concerts inject millions of pounds into the economy, employ thousands of people and make the UK a hot destination despite the weather, a UK Music report reveals. The report recommends more is done to attract further foreign music tourists to the UK.

Jonathan Slye spent part of last summer at a Christian rock camp learning how to be a lead singer. But by November he had another thought: he should throw a rock show in his hometown. Slye wanted to do this as an outreach to his friends to show them Christian music could be cool and have a positive message.

Whether Americans realize it or not, our public diplomacy touches the lives of people around the world on a daily basis in unexpected ways: whether it’s a cup of Starbucks coffee; a McDonald’s Big Mac; a sporting event on television; or a music concert at a theater. The very things Americans often take for granted at home—be it food, sports, or some other form of entertainment—are also widely available around the world, exported to other countries for the pleasure – and sometimes displeasure – of foreign publics.

Good cultural diplomacy is always drawn from the unique.  American country music is one area that projects a wholly American image of the rugged hero sitting high in the saddle or a scorned yet powerful woman singing about lost love. Country songs are about what the French would call la condition humaine, universal stories strummed on a guitar. As such, country music has a vast global appeal.

What does it mean when the term “diplomacy” is grafted onto another word?