Ali el-Haggar to perform concert on YouTube on Apr.20 in celebration of Sham El-Nessim

CAIRO – 19 April 2020: Veteran Egyptian singer Ali el-Haggar will perform a live concert on his official YouTube channel on April 20 at 8 p.m. in celebration of Sham El-Nessim.

The Egyptian Ministry of Culture’s YouTube channel presented Haggar’s concert that was broadcast on April 12 and comes as part of the online initiative "Stay at Home ... Culture is between your Hands".

Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem agreed with Minister of State for Information Osama Haikal to broadcast the initiative's program daily on the Egyptian TV channels.

Head of the National Media Authority Hussein Zain set a fixed date for the broadcast on the second channel at 9 p.m. starting March 25. Abdel Dayem launched the online initiative "Stay at home ... Culture is between your Hands" on March 24 at 9 p.m.

“The initiative aims to broadcast performances from the archives of national, contemporary and traditional arts on the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Culture and its different social media accounts,” Abdel Dayem explained.

The minister indicated that she is calling for the implementation of the precautionary measures aimed at preserving public health and safety through the citizens' commitment to social distancing and staying at home in light of the exceptional circumstances the country is going through.

Haggar received the 2019 Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature in November 2019, to be the first Egyptian singer to receive such prestigious award.

The Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature is an annual award that is granted to Omanis and Arabs.

Moreover, Haggar and famed Egyptian singer Riham Abdel-Hakim performed at Alexandria Opera House on November 12 in the closing of the Arab Music Festival.

The renowned Egyptian singer launched the song "Laih el-Tareeq" (Why that path?) on his official channel on YouTube in 2019. The song is written by Michael Adel and composed by Shadi Moines. The video has amassed a high number of views since its upload.

In 2019, the acclaimed singer also released his latest album "Ma Takhdy Balek” (Pay attention) which included the songs “GowaHodny” (Within my arms), “MeenFeena mesh Mehtag?” (Who is not needy?), “Dari Gamalek” (Hide your beauty), among others. The album achieved great success.

Haggar graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in 1979 and was influenced by late Egyptian music legend Baligh Hamdy, who trained Haggar, Mohamed Mounir and Mohamed el-Helw in a band called el-Takht, which was formed in the Arabic Music Institution.

Inspired by poet, cartoonist, and painter Salah Jaheen, Haggar always wanted to sing Jahin's sonnets; he grew popular after singing them in the 1980s. Around the same time, he also began blending authentic Arabic music with modern technology and sound effects.

In addition to his prolific album releases, Haggar also performed in several theatrical plays, movies, and TV series.

His musical repertoire includes popular hits such as “Hona al-Qahera” (Here is Cairo), “A’m Batata” (Uncle Batata), and “Dehket al-Masagen” (The Prisoners’ Laughter).

Throughout his career, Haggar has performed a number of duets with prominent singers such as "Beladi" and "Khan el-Anadeel" with Mohammed el-Helw,"El-Likaa El-Tany" and "El-Mal we El-Banoon" with HananMady and "Bent we Walad" with Hoda Ammar.

He also participated with Angham in the musical "Rosasa Fel Qalb"(A bullet in the heart).

Another important phase in Haggar's career was his first collaboration with his brother, composer and singer Ahmed el-Haggar, in 1978, when Ahmed el-Haggar composed his brother’s hit "Ozoriny" (Excuse me).

The success that this song achieved sparked Haggar's singing career. The Haggar brothers cooperated in many other songs; Ahmed el-Haggar as a composer and Ali el-Haggar as a vocalist.

Among these songs are "Bahebek" (I love you), "Ana Biki Ya Samra Akon", "El-Ahlam", "Kont Faker", "Tesaaliny", "Lama el-Sheta yedo’o el-Biban", "Ma Tekdebish", "Ergaaily" (Come back), "Lessa El-Kalam", and recently "Ya Masria".