Beirut to hold first edition of cultural festival in May

Date: Saturday, April 09, 2016
By: 
Source: The Daily Star

BEIRUT: The Beirut Cultural Festivals Association has announced the first edition of the Beirut Cultural Festivals that will be held next month at the capital’s seafront area.

The May 17-22 event will include cultural, artistic, sports and entertainment activities, some featuring in Lebanon for the first time.

The opening will consist of a mass visual and musical production using the latest technologies to recount the main historical eras and events in the capital. The closing festivities will include Lebanon’s first F1 show starring one of the field’s leading names.

“The Beirut Cultural festivals strive to constitute a special event befitting our ancient capital, which is deeply rooted in history, in keeping with Beirut’s status as a point of convergence for civilizations and cultures, and with the capital’s iconic historical, civilizational and cultural background,” Lama Salam, the chair of the association, told a news conference earlier this week.

“The launching of the Beirut Cultural festivals aims to instill life once again in Beirut, and spread joy, arts, creativity and beauty in this city, which is dear to our hearts. The aim is to reignite life in wounded, problem-ridden Beirut and restore its former prosperity,” added Salam, wife of Prime Minister Tammam Salam.

Highlights of the festival include erecting a dome in Downtown’s Nijmeh Square that would house a 70-minute show, titled The Story of Beirut, which will recount the city’s past using the 3-D Mapping technique. It will also host concerts by popular singers Ragheb Alama and Nancy Ajram.

The festival will also host a motor sports village, a car show and Lebanon’s first F1 show with a RedBull team car driven on the road between Phoenicia Hotel and BIEL by Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Junior.