The ceremony was held on the Cairo Opera House's main stage.

The CIFET's president Sameh Mahran, the Academy of Arts' president Ghada Gebara, and many other theatre makers from Egypt, the Arab world, and the international scene attended the event.

The awards were handed to the winners as follows:

- Best performance: Babbel (Germany),
- Best director: Madeleine Louisa for the play Autorretrato (Self-Portrait, Ecuador),
- Best actress: French-Syrian actress Hala Omran for her role in Silence (Kuwait),
- Best actor: Santiago Rodrigo for his role in Autorretrato (Self-Portrait, Ecuador),
- Best playwright: Sulayman Al-Bassam for the play Silence (Kuwait),
- Best scenography: Macbeth Factory (Egypt).

Appreciation certificates went to the following works:

- Echo of a Silent Wall by Walid Aouni (Egypt).
- Detainee (Palestine).

The jury of the competition, headed by Egyptian screenwriter Medhat El-Adl, included actress Salwa Mohamed Ali (Egypt); artists John Sebi Okumu (Kenya), Savvas Patsalides (Greece), and Märt Meos (Estonia); theatre academic Abdul-Ilah Al-Sanani (Saudi Arabia); and writer and novelist Hazaa Al-Barari (Jordan).

The notable theatre figures honoured by the festival this year include Cairo-based Lebanese choreographer Walid Aouni; Egyptian actors Mahmoud Hemeida and Mohamed Abdel-Moaty; artist Sobhy El-Sayed; Bahraini actor Youssef El-Hamdan; Iraqi theatre performer Maymoun El-Khaldy; Saudi playwright and critic Melha Abdallah; Emirati writer Mohamed Saeid El-Zanhany; Estonian actor Märt Meos; Greek theatre academic Savas Patsalidis; and Kenyan actor and journalist John Sibi-Okumu. 

The special honoree presented as "Theatre Figure for the 31st Edition" was Ismail Abdullah, an Emirati actor and one of the most notable theatre figures in the Arab Gulf. 

The CIFET was launched in 1988 by the former minister of culture Farouk Hosny to put Egypt on the international theatrical map.

Annually, the festival spans over 10 days, mostly between 1 and 10 September.

This year, it took place from 1 to 11 September, with Sameh Mahran as its president for the second consecutive year.