This year's festival is named after Alaa Abdel-Aziz, a playwright and CIFET's former president (2020).

Abdel-Aziz, one of the significant figures in Egypt's theatre academia, passed away on 4 February 2024. 

The festival is honouring many notable theatre figures, including 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. 

This festival introduces a special honoree, the "Theatre Figure for the 31st Edition," Ismail Abdullah, an Emirati actor and one of the most notable theatre figures in the Arab Gulf. 

Abdullah works as the secretary general of the Arab Theatre Institute, chairman of its Board of Trustees, and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirati Theatrical Association. 

He participated as an actor in many local theatrical productions and directed and wrote numerous plays and TV productions. 

The 31st CIFET will present 26 plays chosen from 160 submissions from Egyptian and 300 international theatre troupes, marking a significant rise from 2023’s 19 performances. 

The official competition will showcase plays from Arab countries including Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan.

The international troupes represent returning countries such as Spain, Romania, Germany, Hungary, India, and Greece.

Notable contenders this year are troupes from Oman and South Africa, returning to the festival after a long absence. 

Additionally, a play from Ecuador will mark the first-ever performance from the country to be staged in CIFET.

The festival will open on 1 September at the Cairo Opera House with the play Echo of a Silent Wall, directed and choreographed by the Cairo-based Lebanese artist Walid Aouni.

The lineup for the festival’s jury committee headed by Egyptian screenwriter Medhat El-Adl includes 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); writer and novelist Hazaa Al-Barari (Jordan).

Following its annual practice, the CIFET will offer free workshops by Egyptian, Arab, and international mentors.

These will include a workshop by Egyptian director and scenographer Omar El-Moutaz Bel’lah and Lebanese scenographer and interior designer Chadia Zaitoun, among others.

Egyptian acting coach Dahlia Sabbour will hold a basic playback theatre workshop, while Syrian director and actor Ajaj Selim will focus on theatre techniques in Chekhov's theatre.

Other activities will feature Dutch artist Justin de Jagger, who will hold a dance workshop titled Threading the Needle, and Brazilian contemporary dance director and choreographer Fernando Melo, who will offer a masterclass titled Artist Talk with Dancer and Choreographer. 

The CIFET, one of the most important artistic events in Egypt’s cultural scene, is organized by the Ministry of Culture and held under the patronage of Minister of Culture Ahmed Hanno.

The festival was launched in 1988 by 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.

The CIFCET was interrupted for five years after the January 2011 Revolution, but it returned in 2016 with Sameh Mahran as its president, and lasting for fewer days

It was renamed the Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre (CIFCET), limited its programme, lessened the number of days, and dropped its competitive character.

The name reverted to the CIFET in its 27th edition (2020) when Abdel-Aziz took over and the competition was reinstated.

The festival will run for 11 days, marking the longest period for CIFET to present its activities.

Sameh Mahran who was CIFET's president in 2023, resumes the same role this year.