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Cairo, located near the Nile Delta is the largest city in the Arab world and Africa. The capital city of Egypt attracts wanderers with its splendid and glorious history. This inspiration house of historians, anthropologists, and archaeologists lure travelers with its vibrant festivals. Cairo Festivals welcome globetrotters by purveying the gleams of joy, intrigue, wanderlust, annoyance and a lot more!
An expedition in Cairo can be far more than visiting pyramids or taking a felucca down the Nile. One can excavate these flamboyant Cairo Festivals and invigorate their stay in this beautiful city, called as the ‘Mother of all cities’.

7 Electrifying Cairo Festivals

Electrifying Cairo Festivals

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This great city of Pyramids holds numerous festivals throughout the year. One can plunge in the glaring ambiance full of music, film, art, culture, fashion, food, sports and a lot more! Here are the best Cairo Festivals, one must encounter while wandering in the streets of this 16th largest metropolitan area in the world.

1. Downtown Contemporary Art Festival

Downtown Contemporary Art Festival

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It’s an international multi-disciplinary contemporary arts festival that’s held for over three weeks between March and April, at multiple sites in Downtown. The festival is popularly known as D-CAF that welcomes local, regional and international music, theatre, dance, visual arts, literature and film by the eminent artists from Egypt. Unlike other festivals, one can enjoy the spectacular performances, events, and exhibitions at the rare venues such as historical buildings, storefronts, alleyways, and rooftops. The festival vouchsafes a new way of understanding this historical city as its aim of reviving and reclaiming Downtown Cairo as the vibrant cultural center.

Must Read: Cairo In October: A Guide For Exploring The Enchanting Land Of Mysteries!


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2. Cairo Jazz Festival

Cairo Jazz Festival

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A famous quote by Vera Nazarian says ‘If music is a place, then Jazz is the city’ and witnessing jazz in this enormous and historical city is surely a once-in-a-lifetime experience which attracts jazz lovers to this majestic city of pyramids. Cairo Jazz Festival is an experience not to be missed by jazz-lovers! One can experience the electrifying jazz performances of the world’s best jazz artists here. Popular artists such as Gilberto Gil, Ziad Rahbani, Carles Benavent, Kazumi Watanabe and Han Bennink exhilarated the crowds here in the previous years. One can also sneak into the fresh wild modern jazz of EMJO to the World Jazz Sound of Eftekasat and Calima.

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3. Panorama Of The European Film

Panorama Of The European Film

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Panorama Europe offers an exciting array of films to the cinema-lovers. Its an essential festival of new and vital European cinema which is presented in collaboration with the Museum of the Moving Image and other members of European Union National Institutes for Culture. The outstanding collections at this peculiar film festival are meticulously selected by a team of professional programmers and organizers of Misr International Films and Zawya cinema. The festival showcases some of the latest award-winning feature and documentary films along with cinematic landmarks and classics from Europe. One can attend workshops and master classes conducted by international film industry guests.

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4. Cairo Bites

Cairo Bites

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This two-day food fiesta brings nearly 100 exhibitors from restaurants of Egypt to one venue. This Cairo festival offers an enormous variety of local, regional and international food and beverage establishments settled in Egypt. If you are a gadabout, wandering in the streets of Cairo then nourish your taste buds at this foodilicious extravaganza. It is a destination that presents the best of food and drinks selections to the epicures along with giving a chance to masticate the rich cuisines of their favorite celebrity chefs.


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5. Egypt Fitness Fest

Egypt Fitness Fest

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This festival is full of fun fitness activities that will make you challenge your abilities and capabilities. One can opt for various challenges such as obstacle course, strongest man/ woman, and arm wrestling challenge and learn to push limits while having an electrifying time at the Egypt Fitness Fest. If you are planning a tour to capture new memories while taking a break from work, stress and responsibilities then planning a visit to this festival will surely make your day! One can indulge in vigorous varieties of free fitness sessions such as Cross Dit, Pilates, Zumba, Les Mills, Insanity, Kids FItness and much more. The highlight of this festival is El Fit Reebok Competition where runner-ups from six different countries strive in an exhilarating fitness championship.

Suggested Read: 8 Cairo Museums That Will Remind You Of The Glorious Past

6. Cairo Fashion Festival

Cairo Fashion Festival

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One of the most renowned annual fashion festivals in Egypt and South Africa, Cario’s Fashion Festival welcomes over 4000 guests exhibiting the splendid diversity of local and international fashion talents, entrepreneurs and professionals. Numerous non-fashion talents, buyers and retailers from across the globe attend this fashion trade festival to witness worldwide brands and their designs. The festival brings major advocates of the fashion industry under the same roof and presents the marketing and communication platform for brands, labels, and designers from the areas of clothing, textiles, furniture, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics.

Suggested Read: Summer In Cairo: A Guide On How To Embrace & Escape The Egyptian Sun

7. Hakawy International Festival For Children

Hakawy International Festival For Children

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Ignite your child’s artistic and cultural drive at Hakawy International festival as it provides numerous enthralling activities such as live theatre, puppeteering, storytelling along with enlightening workshops triggering aesthetics and cultural roots. Its a 3-day festival organized in the month of March grounded at the Hanager Theatre in Cairo Opera House, extending to Alexandria’s Bibliotheca.

Further Read: Get Ready For An Enthralling Road Trip To These Less Known Places Near Cairo!

As they say that ‘the greatness of a culture can be found in its festival’ and Cairo festivals propound an enormous heterogeneity of music, art, culture, films, sports, etc. amidst this historic city of pyramids. Book a trip to Cairo and experience the diversity of this megacity.

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Category: Egypt, Places To Visit

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