Aswan Festival for Arts and Culture to be launched Feb. 17

CAIRO - 14 January 2019: Aswan International Festival's seventh edition is set to kick off on Feb. 17 and run until Feb. 22.

The festival will witness a wide African and Arab participation, in conjunction with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al- Sisi announcing Aswan the capital of African youth 2019 and receiving the presidency of the African Union.

The celebration of the sun illuminating the face of Ramses II at Abu Simbel Temple on February 22 is the most important event in the festival; numerous artistic shows will also be held.

" Aswan Festival marks a major event on the agenda of Egypt's celebration of its presidency of the African Union, with the participation of 26 bands representing 19 countries, including 11 African countries, which are Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritius, Ghana, Togo, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will be the guest of honor of the festival’s seventh edition,” said Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem to MENA.

The minister of culture further stated that the festival's seventh edition will witness a massive African participation.

Abdel Dayem also announced that the program of the festival will witness the opening of a new cultural palace, a book fair and a special conference for women.

“The festival coincides with the selection of Aswan by UNESCO as one of the best cities in the world. The city will be honored by UNESCO during the coming period,” stated Aswan governor.