Check the programmes of three ongoing music festivals here:
- 2nd New Alamein Festival
- 21st Bibliotheca Alexandrina International Summer Festival
- 32nd Citadel Festival for Music and Singing
Check also 6 art exhibitions on display at heart of Cairo
New films across cinemas
Starting Wednesday 21 August, across cinemas
- Blink Twice, starring Channing Tatum, Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat, Simon Rex
Starting Thursday 22 August, across cinemas
- Cinderella's Revenge, starring Natasha Henstridge, Lauren Staerck, Stephanie Lodge
- The Crow, starring Sami Bouajila, Danny Huston, Bill Skarsgård, FKA twigs, Laura Birn
- Deep Sea, starring Brian Flaccus, Angela Malhotra
High Dam Band - music
Wednesday 21 August, 8.30pm
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Open-Air Theatre, Alexandria
They are the first Alexandrian-Nubian band, formed in April 2012.
They aim to preserve Nubian musical culture by modernizing traditional compositions.
The eight-member band include singer Hassan Jamaica, singer and keyboardist Loai El Nakib, MR.Booney and Amr Moo on lead guitar, Ahmed Remo on bass guitar, Ahmed Khairy and Mohamed Gomaa on percussion, Mohamed Gomaa and Karem Mahmoud on the drums.
The concert is part of the 21st Bibliotheca Alexandrina Summer Festival. Check the full programme here.
Nesma Abdel Aziz - music
Thursday 22 August, 8.30pm
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Open-Air Theatre, Alexandria
Nesma Abdel-Aziz is a well-known marimba player. She began her career in 2001 when she performed with renowned musician and composer Omar Khairat. She later started her band to work on personal projects.
Being one of the best Marimba players in the Arab world, Abdel-Aziz studied at the Cairo Conservatory of Music before travelling to continue her studies in the United States.
The concert is part of the 21st Bibliotheca Alexandrina Summer Festival. Check the full programme here.
Omar Khairat - music
Thursday 22 August, 10pm
Musical Arena, New Alamein, North Coast, Egypt
Omar Khairat performs for the second time in New Alamein this month, where he will be hosted by Esaad Younes in a special edition of her programme Sahibat Al-Saada.
Born in 1947, the multi-award-winning Khairat is one of the top musicians in the Arab world, with hundreds of mesmerizing compositions in his repertoire.
Throughout his long and successful career, he has written scores for numerous films and television series, including The Sixth Day (1984), The Terrorist (1993), Mafia (2002), Girl’s Love (2003), The Embassy in the Building (2005), and Deer’s Blood (2006).
His concerts in Egypt and across the Arab world are usually fully booked weeks ahead of time owing to his large fan base singing and humming along to compositions, like Heya Di El-Hayah, Fi Hawid El Leil, Arabian Rhapsody, Fiha Haga Helwa, Eadam Mayet, El-Khawaga Abdel-Kader, Giran El-Hana, Saber, Arfa, Qadeyet Am Ahmed, Khali Balak Men Aklak, and other classic hits of time-honoured TV and film themes.
The concert is part of the New Alamein Festival on the North Coast. Check the full programme here.
Dukan Ahlam - play
Thursday 22 - Saturday 24 August, 10pm
Festive Area, Heritage City, New Alamein, North Coast, Egypt
The play transports the viewers to the world of laughter and fantasy.
Dukan Ahlam (Shop of Dreams) is an imaginary place where the characters live a comedic adventure embedded in the realities of the Egyptian people, their warmth, acceptance, and boundless tolerance.
The play is part of the New Alamein Festival on the North Coast. Check the full programme here.
Ali El-Haggar - music
Friday 23 August, 8.30pm
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Great Hall, Alexandria
El-Haggar is one of the best-known singers in Egypt and the Arab world.
His songs carry lyrics from the poetry of Salah Jahin, Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudy, and Sayed Hegab to music by the most renowned composers such as Baligh Hamdy, Sayed Mekkawy, and Omar Khairat.
The concert is part of the 21st Bibliotheca Alexandrina Summer Festival. Check the full programme here.
Cairokee featuring Tul8te - music
Friday 23 August, 10pm
Musical Arena, New Alamein, North Coast, Egypt
The masked popular Egyptian performer Tul8te, whose identity is unknown to his fans, will take the stage in an opening act for the Cairokee band during the second New Alamein Festival.
Cairokee is one of the most popular independent rock bands in Egypt.
The band has released several studio albums, including Matloob Zaeem (2011), Wana Maa Nafsy Aad (2012), El-Sekka Shemal (2014), Nas w Nas (2015), Noaata Beida (2017), and The Ugly Ducklings (2019). Their Roma album (2022) featured the famous young rapper Marwan Pablo.
Read more about Tul8te here.
The concert is part of the New Alamein Festival on the North Coast. Check the full programme here.
Andromida - music
Saturday 24 August, 8.30pm
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Open-Air Theatre, Alexandria
Egyptian Andromida band specializes in playing covers of the well-known British rock band Pink Floyd.
The concert is part of the 21st Bibliotheca Alexandrina Summer Festival. Check the full programme here.
Saad El-Oud - music
Tuesday 27 August, 8pm
Citadel of Salah Al-Din, Cairo
El-Oud's popularity is deeply ingrained in the material he offers to the audience and the relationship he develops with the listeners during the concerts.
His songs represent authentic Egyptian heritage, often touching on the melancholic note of distant days while interacting with the audience, which makes them not mere listeners of the performance.
Read more about Saad El-Oud here.
The concert is part of the 32nd Citadel Festival for Music and Singing. Check the full programme here.
Medhat Saleh - music
Tuesday 27 August, 10pm
Citadel of Salah Al-Din, Cairo
Medhat Saleh is one of the leading stars of the Egyptian music scene.
Among his best-known songs are Kawkab Tany (Another Planet), Wala Teswa Domoe (Not Worth the Tears), and El-Donia Alemetny (Life Taught Me), and dozens of film scores like Mafia, El-Beliatsho (The Clown), and Amir El-Zalam (Prince of Darkness).
He has released numerous albums and starred in several films, TV series, and plays.
Saleh will be accompanied by the orchestra under the baton of Ahmed Amer.
The concert is part of the 32nd Citadel Festival for Music and Singing. Check the full programme here.
Pay It Forward - film
Wednesday 21 August, 6pm
Egyptian Enlightenment Association, 12 Ahmed Taisir St., Girls College (next to Girls College metro station), Heliopolis, Cairo
Pay It Forward is a 2000 American romantic drama film directed by Mimi Leder.
The film is set in Las Vegas; it chronicles 11- to 12-year-old Trevor McKinney's launch of a goodwill movement known as "pay it forward."
The film stars Helen Hunt, Arlene McKinney, and Kevin Spacey.
Short link: