KARACHI: Cultural groups from Saudi Arabia will participate for the first time in the World Culture Festival hosted by Pakistan from Oct. 31 to Dec. 7, the president of the Arts Council of Pakistan said on Wednesday, adding that it would be “the biggest festival in the world.”
The event, which will be held in Karachi, will host performers from 141 countries, including 37 from Africa, 41 from Asia, 36 from Europe, 13 from North America, 11 from South America and three from Oceania.
The seven-week festival will feature 45 theater productions, 60 music performances, 25 dance shows, six exhibitions, 25 workshops and 15 talks, with 25 international and 30 national artists taking part.
“This year, cultural groups from across the Middle East are participating in the World Culture Festival,” the council’s president, Muhammad Ahmed Shah, told Arab News. “We are grateful to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his remarkable efforts in promoting art and culture in Saudi Arabia.”
“In the future, we look forward to strengthening cultural collaboration with the Kingdom,” he added.
Shah said during a news conference that the festival aimed to promote peace and intercultural understanding, noting that artists from conflict-affected regions will also be represented.
“When people from around the world come here, they will see how peaceful we are,” he said.
Highlighting the response the festival has received, he said that the council had received more than 2,800 films, adding that this is a number unmatched by any other festival in the world.
Shah mentioned that the council was even approached by filmmakers in India and Israel.
Pakistan has tense relations with India after an intense, four-day military conflict between the two South Asian nuclear-armed neighbors.
Pakistan also does not recognize Israel and has always called for an independent state of Palestine with pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital.
Shah also praised the Sindh administration for supporting the event, saying the festival will feature Pakistani films alongside international entries.
