Plenty of skin and ink will be on display when the Norwich Body Art Festival returns for its fifth year, but in a new location.

The city's first and only tattoo convention will take place at the Open Venue, on Bank Plain, on August 17-18.

The festival was co-founded by Outline Magazine and Indigo Tattoo Studio and attracts visitors across the city and further afield.

Organisers said the event will continue to celebrate art, diversity and expression, and they will stick to the regular blueprint, with a few additions.

The event promises more tattoo artists than ever, with more than 80 already booked, and artists ready to tattoo live over the weekend.

Among those booked is Xed LeHead, one of the biggest names in the industry, who returns after praising the event last year.

The festival will also give people the chance to witness the traditional hand-tapping art of tattooing as Lawrence Ah Ching, originally from Samoa, demonstrates the ancient art using bamboo sticks and ink.

It will also offer more than just ink on skin, with other entertainment including the festival's own Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School class, where burlesque performance will be mixed with a life drawing class that festival goers can join.

There will also be what organisers described as a 'heady mix' of cabaret, circus, music and more, with local acts such as Theatre of Escapades, Hocus Pocus Theatre, The Thinking Men and There's Someone in the Pond all already booked.

Festival-goers seeking a memento of the weekend will be able to try their hand at screen-printing special designs created for the festival.

Traders will also be selling a range of other items.

Organisers have held entry fees at 2010 prices, because they said they recognised the pinch locals have been feeling in recent years.

They said: 'Norwich Body Art Festival is the event that's truly made an indelible mark on Norwich's social calendar, and the team can't wait to open their new doors and give you a weekend to remember.'

The festival takes place at the Open Youth Venue in Bank Plain on August 17-18.

Adult tickets cost £10 for a day or £17.50 for the weekend, and under 16s' tickets cost £5 or £7.50.

See www.norwichbodyartfestival.co.uk