Dubbed Kulthumiyat, the Cairo Opera House announced the concert on its official website earlier this month.

The event will feature Cairo Opera's Arab Music Orchestra, conducted by Alaa Abdel-Salam and singers Rehab Omar and Iman Abdel Ghani. 

Both Omar and Abdel Ghani are known for their great performances of classic Arabic songs and their unique talent for reviving Um Kalthoum's repertoire. The singers frequently perform at the Cairo Opera House and take the stages of regional concert halls, often participating in music festivals that showcase the best of Arab music heritage. 

Within days of the Philharmonic's release of the news, tickets to the Kulthumiyat concert were sold out, marking the power of the Star of the Orient half a decade after her passing.

It is worth noting that Um Kalthoum's two historic concerts at the Olympia Théâtre in Paris in November 1967 have been sold out just hours after their announcement. As the Cairo Opera's website clarifies, “One of the concerts was attended by the late King Hussein of Jordan, who was in Paris, alongside 13 Arab ambassadors, including the representative of the Arab League, and large numbers of Arab expatriates in Europe.”

The mentioned concerts were among the important European showcases of Um Kalthoum, a symbol of Egyptian soft power and Arab unity at the time. Singing in Paris shortly after Egypt's defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War (known as Al-Naksa), the singer used her voice and status to raise funds for the Egyptian military. Not only did she donate all proceeds from Paris performances to support the Egyptian Army, but she has also done so through the many concerts she held across Egypt and the Middle East.

The Kulthumiyat concert on 2 February is one of a few events organized by the Paris Philharmonic to commemorate the Egyptian diva and pay tribute to the music of her home country and the Arab world.

An event titled Agmal Layali - Hommage to Um Kalthoum will premiere at the Philharmonic on 30 January. Prepared by a group called Love and Revenge, the event will present the diva's repertoire in a new context, fusing contemporary sounds and video elements.

On 1 and 2 February, Les Musiciens du Nil (The Musicians of the Nile) will take the stage, presenting a "concert-performance that recreates the atmosphere of an evening in an Upper Egyptian village, similar to Um Kalthoum's hometown," reads the Philharmonic's website. 

Formed in 1975 by Alain Weber, who has served as their artistic director ever since, the Musicians of the Nile is a group of artists representing the renowned Mataqil family of musicians.

The group has featured some of the most prominent figures in Upper Egyptian tradition, including Metqal Qenawi Metqal, Shamandi Tawfiq Metqal, and Muhammed Murad Mejali, followed by the younger generation.

Between 30 January and 2 February, the Philharmonic will also present a series of darbouka workshops and Oriental percussion showcases for the youngest music lovers.