C for circus The third round of the biannual Cairo International Circus Festival or CirCairo (17-26 October) is upon us. Organised by Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafi (The Cultural Resource) in collaboration with the Foreign Cultural Relations Sector at the Ministry of Culture, the British Council, the Ministry of Antiquities and Heritage and the Tourism Activation Authority, it brings together 10 countries including Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark, Germany and Tunisia. The evocative pictures above, by Bassam Al-Zoghby, are of troupes performing at the opening ceremony which took place at Al-Azhar Park: Gandini Juggling from the UK, Bover from Spain, Lumen from Switzerland, The Three Heroes of Jutland from Denmark and Al-Darb Al-Ahmar Arts School from Egypt. On Mohamed Mahmoud Street, Downtown, Bavarian traditional music and dances were performed for the first time this week to celebrate Oktoberfest, Nesmahar Sayed reports. The administration of the Deutsche Schule Der Borromarinnen responded to the suggestion of one of the teachers, who hails from southern Germany, to hold a celebration of the Oktoberfest. For Walter Ritter, the German manager of the school and Hala Ghoneim, its Egyptian representative, the celebration is intended to introduce German culture to Egyptian society in addition to making those teachers who come from southern Germany feel at home. Many teachers and some of the students performed traditional Bavarian dances wearing traditional clothes. While many of those present were celebrating the event for the first time, they delighted in the Bavarian food and bakery on offer. One of the Germans present said, “It is so funny that we're attending the Oktoberfest in Cairo while we never attended it in Germany.” To celebrate Chile's National Day, Chilean Ambassador José Miguel de la Cruz gave a delightful reception at Sofitel Gezira Hotel. Present were Russian Ambassador Serge Kirpichenko, Tunisian Ambassador Mahmoud Al-Khomeiri, European Union Ambassador James Moran, Greek Ambassador Chris Lazaris, Austrian Ambassador Ferdinand Maultasch, Georgian Ambassador Archil Dzuliashvili, Finnish Ambassadress Tuula Yrjölä, Polish Ambassador Michal Murkociński, Tajikistan Ambassador Nadharallah Nizarof, Argentinean Ambassador Sergio Alberto Baur, Mexican Ambassador Jorge Alvarez Fuentes and his Brazilian counterpart Marco Brando. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Egypt organised on Saturday a day of environmental protection action: the Wadi Degla cleaning campaign. It took place in partnership with Omar Samra, the first Egyptian to climb Mount Everest, the Wild Guanabana Company and the Mansour Foundation for Development as well as the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA). The event aims to raise environmental awareness and collective responsibility towards the protection of nature. At the same time Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmi, together with Minister of Youth and Sports Khaled Abdel-Aziz and Al-Menoufiya Governor Ahmed Fawzi launched the “Let's Ride Cycles” festival organised in Shebeen Al-Koum city with UNDP support on Friday. The event gathered over 5,000 boys and girls on their bicycles. The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) is holding a special Book Week from 22-27 October (9am-5.30pm, excluding Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 23 Talaat Harb Street, Downtown Cairo) to showcase and offer for sale at a nominal cost some of the best books on India. The books, including biographies and magazine compilations, cover a range of topics from politics, history, society and arts to science and technology. A prestigious farewell party was held at the French Embassy in Giza for French Ambassador Nicolas Galey and his wife Camilia. Galey gave a moving speech expressing gratitude for those who came to pay him farewell and recalling his time in Cairo. Present were former prime minister Hazem Al-Beblawi, Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou, Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour, former head of national intelligence Mourad Mowafi, former minister of higher education Hani Hilal, businessman Mansour Al-Gammal, tourism expert Amr Badr, Greek Ambassador Chris Lazaris, Serbian Ambassador Dragon Bisenic, head of the International Union of Muslim-Christian-Jewish Dialogue and Peace Education Ali Al-Samman, Political Science Professor Mona Makram Ebeid, daughter of the late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser Mona Abdel-Nasser, novelist Gamal Al-Gheitani, artist Mohamed Afifi, fashion designer Hani Al-Beheiri, beauty expert Mohamed Al-Soghayar, director Kamal Abdel-Aziz and actor Ahmed Bedeir. Producer Hisham Abdel-Khalek gave a press conference following the release of his Eid Al-Adha hit film Al-Gezira 2 (The Island 2), at the headquarters of the production company located in Maadi. Present were the cast including actors Ahmed Al-Saqqa, Nidal Al-Shafei, Arwa Gouda and Ahmed Malek, though director Sherif Arafa, actress Hind Sabri and actor Khaled Al-Sawi were unable to attend. Al-Saqqa opened the proceedings with silence for Khaled Saleh, one of the main stars of the film who passed away last month before its release. The Ambassador of Malta to Egypt George Cassar gave a reception to mark the 50th anniversary of Malta's Independence Day. Present were businessmen Sobhi Al-Khodari, Mustafa Al-Saqqa and George Folopolis, Tunisian Ambassador Mahmoud Al-Khomeiri, Russian Ambassador Serge Kirpichenko, Italian Ambassador Maurizio Massari, European Union Ambassador James Moran, Swiss Ambassador Markus Leitner, Romanian Ambassador Cornel Alecse, Belgian Ambassador Gilles Heyvaert, Finnish Ambassador Tuula Yrjölä, Greek Ambassador Chris Lazaris, Serbian Ambassador Dragon Bisenic, Austrian Ambassador Ferdinand Maultasch, Georgian Ambassador Archil Dzuliashvili and his Chilean counterpart José Miguel de la Cruz.
