Egypt launched the 30th edition of the Arab Music Festival and Conference on Monday. During the opening ceremony of the festival, Egyptian Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem said, "Music remains one of the important linkages between the people of the Arab world," noting that the festival gathers artists in Egypt to reflect the originality and uniqueness of Arab creativity and heritage. The minister added that the 30th edition was dedicated to honour the late musician and songwriter Gamal Salama, internationally renowned Egyptian musician Abdo Dagher, and former President of the Academy of Arts, Fawzy Fahmy. The festival will also honour former Dean of the Arabic Music Institute in Cairo, Ashraf Heikal, and the Egyptian musician Khaled Al-Amir. The festival will be running from 1 to 15 November at six theatres in three governorates; Cairo, Alexandria, and Beheira. Head of the Cairo Opera House, Magdy Saber, asserted that the Opera House will remain the fortress of preserving serious arts and will remain a defender of creativity, even if the standards differ. During the ceremony, the Minister of Culture and the head of the Opera honored 19 musical personalities who contributed to enriching artistic life in Egypt and the Arab world. The festival has also begun on the stage of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, where the Lebanese star Assi El-Hellani performed a concert accompanied by the El-Hefny group led by Maestro Ahmed Amer. Concerts will feature star singers like Egyptians Afaf Radi, Hany Shaker, Medhat Saleh, Ali El-Haggar, Mohamed El-Helw, Carmen Suleiman, Mai Farouk and Nadia Mostafa, Moroccan Samira Saed, Saudi Abadi Al-Johar, Lebanese Majida El-Roumi, Assi El-Hallani, Marwan Khoury and Wael Jassar, Syrian Assala Nasri, and Tunisian Saber Rebai, among other singers and troupes. Six stages will host the events, El-Gomhoreya and Arab Music Theatres as well as the Cairo Opera House's Fountain and Small theatres in Cairo and the Opera Damanhour in Beheira, in addition to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina for the first time.
