This is Beirut

Eurovision Returns to Switzerland: A Legacy of Song Evolution

This is Beirut, 16/05 15:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Eurovision Switzerland Europe Music Culture Art

Switzerland is hosting Eurovision for the third time, with the extravaganza a world away from when it staged the inaugural competition in 1956—and also from 1989 when Celine Dion starred. The 2025 edition on May 17 in Basel will draw an expected TV audience of around 160 million, with viewers worldwide casting their votes. Here is a look back ...

Salman Rushdie’s attacker to be sentenced this Friday

This is Beirut, 16/05 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Salman Rushdie Writer Iran Culture Art Justice

Hadi Matar will be sentenced on Friday for trying to kill novelist Salman Rushdie in a 2022 knife attack at a New York cultural center. Hadi Matar, 27, faces up to 25 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder and assault charges in February this year. During the trial, Rushdie told jurors about Matar "stabbing and slashing" him ...

Algeria Targets Author Kamel Daoud in Legal Dispute

This is Beirut, 13/05 13:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Algeria France Writer Culture Art

Franco-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud, who is the subject of two international arrest warrants from Algeria and a legal complaint in France, called the legal actions against him “a form of judicial persecution” in an interview with the French daily Le Figaro on Monday. Daoud, who won the 2024 Goncourt Prize, also described the legal saga as “a ...

The Daring Thefts of Munch’s 'The Scream'

Bélinda Ibrahim, 10/05 17:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Edvard Munch The Scream Art Culture Paintings

It is without a doubt one of the most recognizable paintings in the world: a pale face frozen in a silent scream, hands pressed against its cheeks, a burning red sky above a Norwegian fjord. Since its creation in 1893, The Scream by Edvard Munch has been the subject of endless interpretations, reproductions, and obsessions. A symbol of modern ...

At Long Last, Cannes Welcomes Klapisch, Filmmaker of a Generation

This is Beirut, 10/05 10:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Cinema Cannes Cannes Film Festival Cédric Klapisch Culture Art

From Le Péril jeune to L’Auberge espagnole, every generation has its Klapisch. Yet despite drawing over 17 million viewers to theaters, the French director had never been invited to Cannes—until now. At 63, that’s finally changing at the 78th edition of the Festival. His new film, La Venue de l’avenir, will be screened out of competition ...

Eurovision Sparks Creativity in Swiss Classrooms Through Song

This is Beirut, 09/05 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Eurovision Music Culture Concert Art Basel

Swiss schoolchildren are drawing inspiration from Eurovision and creating their own songs, to be performed before an audience of thousands in the build-up to this year's extravaganza in Basel. "It's exciting to see that we're all going to sing together" on stage on the sidelines of the Eurovision Song Contest, said Tessa Cajani, a pupil at a ...

'Remembering the Light' at Sursock Museum: The Poetics of Light and Memory

This is Beirut, 09/05 12:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Exhibition Sursock Museum Culture Art Film Photography

Sursock Museum presents Remembering the Light, a major solo exhibition by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige. Spanning works produced mainly between 2016 and the present, the exhibition brings together installations, photographs, films, video and sculptures. It explores the vertigo of archaeology, constructed imaginaries, fragility and ...

Rosy Daniel Unveils 'Echoes of Summer' in Solo Exhibition at Rebirth Beirut

This is Beirut, 07/05 13:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Exhibition Culture Painting Art Beirut

Lebanese artist Rosy Daniel is set to present a captivating new collection in her solo exhibition Echoes of Summer, a deeply personal and evocative body of work. Opening on May 8, 2025, the exhibition will launch with an evening reception from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Hosted at Rebirth Beirut Space, located in the heart of Gemmayze, the show will ...

Goya’s Cursed Pigment: When Art Becomes Poison

Bélinda Ibrahim, 06/05 18:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Francisco Goya Poison Pigments Paintings Art

What if Goya’s deafness wasn’t just a twist of fate, but the poisoned result of a deadly pigment he used in his paintings? In 1793, at 47, Francisco de Goya was struck by a mysterious affliction that left him bedridden for months. He emerged weakened, feverish, delirious – and permanently deaf. The impact was profound. Just as he was poised ...

Burying Acorns, Blooming Joy: Luqoom’s New Tale of Friendship and Wonder

This is Beirut, 06/05 10:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Book Publishing Culture Art Beirut

Beirut’s boutique publisher Luqoom unveils The Little Boy Who Lost His Joy, a tender new picture book by founder Racha Mourtada with luminous art from Dania K. Set in Dyslexie—a font designed to ease reading for children with dyslexia—this color-rich adventure follows a forgetful squirrel and a bow-tied boy as they learn that joy, like an ...

The House of Worth Takes Over Paris Fashion History

This is Beirut, 05/05 13:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Petit Palais Paris France Culture Art Luxury

For the first time, the House of Worth—considered the birthplace of haute couture—is featured in a Paris exhibition showcasing rare archival pieces and revisiting the story of one of France’s luxury icons. Organized in collaboration with Palais Galliera, Paris’ fashion museum, this retrospective at the Petit Palais, titled “Worth, ...

'Thunderbolts' Opens Strong with Explosive Box Office Debut

This is Beirut, 05/05 10:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Cinema Film Box Office US Culture Art

Marvel’s Thunderbolts stormed the North American box office with a spectacular debut, grossing $76 million in its first three days, according to data released Sunday by Exhibitor Relations. This team of unconventional and jaded anti-heroes falls into a dangerous trap, forcing them to join forces for a high-risk mission that will make them face ...

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