Closing Ceremony of the Cairo International Song Festival

by Dr. Maged El-Baily

On the 28th of August, the Cairo international convention center witnessed the closing ceremony of the International song festival. Again the ceremony was held in the Cheops theatre of the convention center. The ceremony started with the entrance of the competitors,  each carrying his or her countries flag. Afterwards, the Cuban band "Banda Sazon" gave a performance of Latin music. The concert hall swayed to the salsa beats of the band. Currently, salsa music is very popular in Egypt.

The awards were then handed out to the winners in the song competition. From the oriental competition Egypt won first prize. This is not all so amazing, as Egypt has long been the entertainment capital of the Middle East, and many of the country's performers are well known thoughout the region. Libya, Jordan and Saudi Arabia won honorary awards. The FIDOF prize was awarded to Morocco and Egypt. Romania won the first prize of the occidental competition.

The lively entertaining Bessy from Greece was next to perform after the prizes. She was a competitor in last year's Song Festival and this year she came as an entertainer. She sang in Greek, English and Arabic. The Bezzooki band performing with Bessy sounded the distinctive Greek musical tunes. The Audience participated with Bessy when she went down from the stage to sing within them. Her songs are well known in Egypt.

Bessy

After the break, Egyptian singers accompanied by dancers sang Andalusian Tirza Rimas (an old form of Arabic singing). The Equador band then performed some traditional dances. And with that, the closing ceremonies came to and end.

The effort spent on preparing and executing this song festival is beyond words. The festival was a faultless success. I have to thank all the leaders for making this event possible. I sincerely thank the hidden pioneers that organized this marvelous festival, bringing many nations to our Egypt, land of history and Culture. I thank all the competitors who came to compete with honor. Last but not least, if you are in Egypt next year from the 20th to the 28th of August, do not miss the 8th International Song Festival. If you think you have the talent of singing do not hesitate to participate in this competition. I am sure that the festival will be even better.