by Arab News - DAMMAM: The Beiteddine International Art Festival, one of the Arab world’s leading music festivals, was launched on Saturday at Lebanon’s magnificent 200-year old Beiteddine Palace in the Chouf Mountains. This year’s edition features international, regional and local artists including Majida Al-Roumi, Kadim Al-Saher, Jordi Savall, Omar Kamal, Emel Mathlouthi and The Political Circus. The festival’s organizers described the event as “a beacon of culture, heritage and art across the Arab world” with a “mission to create platforms for creativity in the Middle East.” Beiteddine festival was founded in the summer of 1985 in the midst of the Lebanese civil war.
Its launch, at the time, was considered a leap of faith and an attempt to revive Lebanon’s cultural and creative scene.
Two years after its start, Nora Joumblat and an executive committee became the official organizers of the festival, and ever since it has become a leading regional and international annual event.  Each year, in the months of July and August, the festival presents outstanding performances by world famous stars and Lebanese artists. Concurrent with the performances, the palace houses one or more international art exhibits.
Thousands of people from across the Arab world attend the festival every year.