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.
