The shows go on amid tensions this festival season in Lebanon
Music, art, and religious festivals, large and small, have become summertime staples in Lebanon, providing entertainment and generating tourist dollars.
The summer of 2019 in Lebanon was anything but calm, punctuated by episodes of violence and political conflict, but the country’s summer festivals, large and small, carried on, attracting and entertaining locals and tourists around the country.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Lebanese villages and cities hosted more than 100 licensed festivals. Some of the events are famous — among them the Beiteddine Art Festival and ones in Baalbek, Byblos and Beirut — and others less so, such as the Ehdeniyat International Festival.
The Beiteddine Art Festival, which premiered in 1985, is one of Lebanon's oldest summer events. Named from and held in the capital of the Shouf Mountain region at a 200-year-old palace also taking its name from the city, the festival offers an ambitious program of concerts by Lebanese and international artists as well as art exhibits into late September. This year’s program featured a world premiere performance by the Oscar-winning composer Gabriel Yared and the acclaimed singer Yasmina Joumblatt accompanied by the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra. The actor Gerard Depardieu was also on the bill, singing French songs accompanied by piano.
Nora Joumblatt, president of the Beiteddine Art Festival, told Al-Monitor that turnout this year was around 28,000 visitors, which was below expectations. “The [attacks in June and July] had a negative impact on the number of visitors, especially for the first events of the festival,” Joumblatt said.
