Extraordinary IFDTA closing ceremony

CAIRO – 28 April 2018: The sixth edition of the International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts (IFDTA) ended on Thursday, leaving a very excited audience. The closing ceremony took place at Beir Youssef Theater in Cairo’s Saladin Citadel.

Almost 20 countries participated in the ceremony, including Egypt, Palestine, Greece, Syria, India, Sudan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Tunisia. Sri Lanka participated as the guest of honor in the festival.


The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts - Egypt Today/Mariam Mosleh


The audience sang, danced and cheered for all participating countries, especially when Palestine and Syria performed together. Intesar Abdel Fattah, head and founder of the festival, allowed for Palestine to perform twice due to their energetic show. The first time they danced on their own, and then Syria joined them for the second time. The people were all fired up and on their feet, dancing and cheering.


The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts - Egypt Today/Mariam Mosleh




The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts, Egypt, Aswan -Egypt Today/Mariam Mosleh


The festival honored several authorities, including former Minister of Culture Mohamed Saber Arab; Ambassador Mona Omar; Haggag Oddoul, an Egyptian writer of Nubian descent; UNESCO; the National Commission for the Development and Protection of Heritage under the chairmanship of Ibrahim Mahlab; and others who helped organize the festival and make it successful.


The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts, Egypt, Port Said - Egypt Today/Mariam Mosleh




The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts, Greece - Egypt today/Mariam Mosleh

Towards the end of the festival, all the countries gathered on the stage to celebrate Sinai Liberation Day. They danced and waved their flags while Egyptian singer and actress Shadia sang “Misr el youm Fe Eid” (Egypt today is in Eid) in the background.


The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia/Egypt Today- Mariam Mosleh


The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts, Palestine -Egypt Today/Mariam Mosleh



The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts, Poland, - Egypt Today/Mariam Mosleh



The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts, Syria - Egypt Today/Mariam Mosleh

Intesar Abdel Fattah said in the end, “I hope everyone enjoyed the festival and thank you to everyone who participated and helped in making this festival successful.” He continued, “I’ll see everyone again next year in the seventh edition of the International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts.”


The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts, Syria - Egypt Today/Mariam Mosleh



The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts, Tunisia, -Egypt Today/Mariam Mosleh



The closing ceremony of the 6th International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts,Pakistan - Egypt Today/Mariam Mosleh