The International Festival of Carthage ( ar, مهرجان قرطاج الدولي) is an annual music

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

taking place in July and August since 1964 in the coastal city of

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...

(

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

History

It was established as a two-day Jazz festival on the initiative by intellectuals in the early 1960s.{{Cite web , last=Khlifi , first=Roua , date=15 August 2015 , title=Carthage International Festival continues to shine from Roman amphitheatre , url=https://thearabweekly.com/carthage-international-festival-continues-shine-roman-amphitheatre , access-date=2023-01-20 , website=Arab Weekly , language=en In 1964 it was taken over by the Tunisian

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

and its location became the antique amphitheater of Carthago which was renovated for the festival. The amphitheater has a capacity of 7'500 spectators. Since its founding, the Carthage Festival has attracted such artists from the Arab world as

Ali Riahi Ali Fethi Ben Mohamed Ben Brahim Riahi (Arabic:علي الرياحي), (March 30, 1912 Tunis – March 17, 1970), was a Tunisian singer and composer. He is the grandson of Sidi Brahim Riahi . In 1938, Othman Kaak invited Riahi to join the radio ...

, Hedi Jouini, Saber Rebaï, Kadhim Saher,

Najwa Karam Najwa Karam ( ar, نجوى كرم, , born 26 February 1966) is a Lebanese singer, songwriter, producer, fashion icon, one of the best selling recording artist in the middle east with more than 60 million records worldwide. Known as the "Sun of ...

, Warda, Sherine and

Majida El Roumi Majida El Roumi Baradhy ( ar, ماجدة الرومي برادعي; born 13 December 1956) is a Lebanese soprano singer and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. Early life Majida El Roumi Al Baradhy was born on 13 December 1956 in Kfarshima ...

. The festival features Arab-Mediterranean culture and all kinds of artwork. The festival has also played host to

Jean Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanie ...

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...

, James Brown, Louis Armstrong,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Alpha Blondy Seydou Koné (; born January 1, 1953 in Dimbokro), better known by his stage name Alpha Blondy, is an Ivorian reggae singer and international recording artist. Many of his songs are politically and socially motivated, and are mainly sung in hi ...

, Joe Cocker,

Serge Lama Serge Lama (born Serge Claude Bernard Chauvier on 11 February 1943 in Bordeaux) is a French singer and songwriter. His most famous song is '' Je suis malade'', written with Alice Dona Alice Donadel, stagename Alice Dona (Maisons-Alfort, 17 F ...

Amália Rodrigues Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues GCSE, GCIH (23 July 1920 – 6 October 1999), better known as Amália Rodrigues () or popularly as Amália, was a Portuguese '' fadista'' (fado singer) and actress. Known as the 'Rainha do Fado' ("Queen ...

Gérard Lenorman Gérard Lenorman (born 9 February 1945) is a French singer-songwriter. Lenorman was born at the Château de Bénouville, Calvados (Normandy) when it was a maternity hospital. He is the son of Madeleine Lenormand and an unknown German soldier. ...

, Khaled and

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

, as well as plays, dances, folk, and ballet.

References

External links

Official website (in French)
Music festivals in Tunisia Summer events in Tunisia