Port Ghalib, an integrated community in Egypt, hosted participants from 14 countries from across the Mena and the Levant region for ‘Mahragan Al Oghneya Al Arabiya’ the Arab Song Festival.

In addition to Egypt other countries that participated were Jordan, Bahrain, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania.

Riham Abdel Hakim, an upcoming star from Egypt, won the coveted Golden Microphone award.

“The Arab Song Festival is an Arab focussed artistic event that is held under the supervision of the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU). The aim of this event is to study understand and adapt the Arab singing trends as well as the movement of tunes and lyrics from one geography to the other within the region,” said Ibrahim Saleh, vice president of the Kharafi Group – Egypt.

The event witnessed two opening ceremony acts by Egyptian and regional superstars – Khalid Selim and Amal Maher. Angham, another regional singing sensation enthralled the audience during the closing ceremony. The Festival was spread over five days and a large number of people including the guests staying at the luxury resort were present at the event to encourage and support participants from their countries.

The festival also included several seminars; a symposium on Arabic songs and also discussed how to take advantage of the heritage of Arabic music in the formulation of new creations. Other topics of discussions were; the ethics in this profession, production and distribution of music, ways of preserving musical heritage of the Arab world and establishment of creative platforms to promote technical knowledge and professional training.

“We would like to host more such events to promote the Middle Eastern culture and arts through such events to people from other countries who visit Port Ghalib. Marsa Alam International Airport offers direct flights to a number of European countries including the UK, Germany, Italy, Russia and France. Port Ghalib is also easily accessible by sea, via the new Port Ghalib International Marina, and by road,” added Ibrahim Saleh.

Port Ghalib is the first integrated community that is being developed by the master developer, MA Kharafi Group, with a total area of 8 million sqm. The group owns a total area of 30 million sqm, stretching along 18 kilometres of virgin shoreline.

When complete, phase one of the development will also have a yacht club, and several entertainment facilities and services. The project is now over 40 per cent complete. There are currently a wide range of studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments and villas available at Port Ghalib, with prices starting from $117,000. The homes vary in size from the 517 sq ft studio apartments to the 3391 sq ft Arabian villas.

Port Ghalib International Marina is also the first official international tourist port of entry into Egypt and has been operational since 2002 accommodating up to a staggering 1000 yachts of up to 60 metres in length.-TradeArabia News Service