Egypt celebrates Port Said as its ‘Capital of Culture’ for 2021 on March 4

CAIRO – 2 March 2021: Under the auspices of Egypt’ President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt’s Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem and Governor of Port Said Adel el-Ghadban will launch the celebration held for choosing Port Said Governorate as the Egyptian Capital of Culture.

The celebration will launch on March 4 at 7 p.m. at Port Said’s Culture Center and will continue for the rest of 2021.

Abdel Dayem said that the tradition of celebrating the Egyptian Capital of Culture reflects the keenness to continue implementing plans to achieve cultural justice in all parts of Egypt. She added that culture and arts in general are the effective guarantee for awakening the human conscience and building strong personalities based on balanced thought.

Also, Abdel Dayem stated that a festive agenda has been prepared for this event, which includes 100 cultural, artistic and intellectual events, in which all sectors of the ministry participate.

The events are held in a number of cultural centers in the governorate, in addition to squares and parks appropriate for presenting various theater performances, music and singing concerts, folk and performing arts shows, cinema screenings, book fairs, plastic art and Arabic calligraphy exhibitions, seminars, cultural salons, and workshops for traditional crafts as well as artistic and literary workshops in poetry, story, etc.

Moreover, cultural integration programs will be presented to children and adults of the border areas, and introductory tours of the architectural and urban history of Port Said and the Suez Canal, as well as of the city's archaeological monuments will be organized.

The festive activities also aim to reinforce the cultural structure of the governorate by opening projects that serve its children and guests. This includes the reopening of the Port Said Cinema in Al-Thalatiny Street after its development, renewal and rehabilitation, to suit the history and position of the valiant city; and also the reopening of the General Egyptian Book Authority’s outlet in Port Fouad, which will take place on the second day of the celebration.

It is noteworthy that the tradition of celebrating the Egyptian capital of culture was laid by the Ministry of Culture for its activities to be held in the governorate that hosts the General Conference of Egyptian writers.

Marsa Matrouh bore the title during 2019 and the title was then awarded to Port Said Governorate. The celebrations were supposed to be held in 2020 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.