13th Babil Festival to conclude Oct. 16 with Marcel Khalife and Faisal al-Luaibi
The 13th edition of the Babil Festival, under the slogan "We Are All Babylonians," continues until October 16, 2026, with Iraqi, Arab and international participants, the return of Faisal al-Luaibi and a performance by Marcel Khalife.
The thirteenth session of the Babil Festival of Global Cultures and Arts continues in Babil Governorate under the slogan "We Are All Babylonians" and will conclude on October 16, 2026, with participation from writers, musicians and visual artists from Iraq, Arab countries and foreign states, and with representatives from the Ministry of Culture and the local government in attendance.
The session opened on October 9 at the Babylon Grand Theatre, where the festival president, Ali al-Shallah, delivered a speech welcoming the guests and stressing Babylon's historical status as a meeting point of cultures. In his remarks he noted that Arab participation was wide, exceeding 90 percent, alongside guests arriving from Canada and European countries.
Among the most prominent moments of the session was the return of Iraqi visual artist Faisal al-Luaibi to the artistic scene after an absence from the homeland that lasted 51 years, and the participation of composer Marcel Khalife after a similar period of absence, in what was read as a celebration of Iraqi and Arab creativity. The program also includes a book fair in a "Babylonian Library" inspired by the ancient Babylonians' methods of displaying knowledge.
Festival events ranged across music, poetry, visual arts, theatre, cinema and intellectual seminars, with commemorations marking centennials of pioneers such as Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, Abd al-Wahab al-Bayati, Beland al-Haidari, Mustafa Jamal al-Din and Hussein Ali Mahfouz, in addition to honoring the late Babylonian poet Mouwaffaq Muhammad.
The festival administration distributed activities across several sites within the governorate, with evening performances and daytime seminars aimed at the local public and visitors from neighboring provinces. The administration praised the support of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, the local government, the security forces and the organizational teams that helped secure the program's operations.
The return of figures like al-Luaibi and Marcel Khalife is viewed as a symbolic message of cultural openness that reconnects emigrant creators with their home cities, at a time when Babil is seeking to strengthen its position on the map of Arab festivals during the autumn season. As the session's close on October 16 approaches, attention is focused on the closing concerts and major musical performances, amid noticeable turnout from families and arts college students for open events and visual art exhibitions.
Read also: Al-Shallah supports animation cinema during the Babil Festival
