Rebirth Beirut brings nightlife back to Lebanon’s iconic Gemmayzeh
NGO Rebirth Beirut has brought 24-hour power back to Lebanon’s beloved nightlife district, hoping to encourage visitors and businesses to return.
BEIRUT — Dozens of people gathered on Gemmayzeh Street — once the heart of Beirut’s vibrant nightlife scene — Sunday to watch as light was restored to the area. Ordinarily, the streets would already be growing dim with the sunset. Instead, with the press of a big red button, onlookers were bathed in the bright glow of street lamps and party lights.
It was the culmination of the nongovernmental organization Rebirth Beirut’s “Light Your Street” initiative in front of its Gemmayzeh headquarters.
“All our initiatives are all about light, hope and bringing back a certain feeling of joy,” Rebirth Beirut’s founder and president, Gabriel Fernaine, told Al-Monitor. “We've been working for the last 10 days on Gemmayzeh, Mar Mikhael and Pasteur Street.”
“Today, for the launching of our initiative, we are using power from three different generators,” he said. “We hope that we will have 24-hour electricity back in a couple of years and this initiative will not be needed anymore, but until then, we decided to take it into our own hands to light up the city.”
