Egypt Culture Minister Enas Abdel-Dayem will open the 27th edition of the Arab Music Festival, which will run between 1 and 12 November and host 43 concerts in seven different halls in Cairo, Alexandria, Damanhur and Tanta.

Tunisian singer Latifa will open the festival while Lebanese Majda El-Roumi will be the star of the closing night.

"Seventy-two musicians from eight Arab countries will give concerts, while 16 Arab and foreign countries will take part in the festival's conferences," the Opera House's president Magdi Saber stated during a press conference held on Monday to reveal the details about the event.

Among the performers are Egyptian stars Hani Shaker, Medhat Saleh, Ali El-Haggar, Iman El-Bahr Darwish, Mohamed Tharwat, the Lebanese Assi El-Helani, Wael Jassar and Ramy Ayach, the Tunisian Saber Rebaï and the Kuwaiti Nawal.

The eight countries are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Tunisia, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain and Jordan.

"The Arab Music Festival is a very important event. I started working on organizing it since the very first day I took charge," Saber added.

The current edition will be named after Egyptian singing and acting icon Shadia with 17 Arab musicians to be honored at the event.

"This edition is named after Shadia and will be introduced by Michael El- Masry and violinist Saad Mohamed Hassan," the Festival head Gehan Morsi revealed.

The booking for the various concerts will open on Thursday at the Cairo Opera House.

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