The year 2019 marks 150 years since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. To celebrate the occasion, Egypt and France have declared 2019 a French-Egyptian Cultural year.
Through the French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805 – 1894), France played a pivotal role in the design, planning, and inauguration of the waterway which linked the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and which was dug and executed by Egyptian hands.
The French Cultural Institute in Cairo announced that 2019 will highlight French-Egyptian mutual heritage and cultures through boosting artistic exchange between Cairo and Paris.
The evening of 8 January should witness a unique dance performance at the Cairo Opera House, featuring dancers from the Paris Opera and their Egyptian counterparts from the Cairo Opera.
This year’s cultural events will cover all artistic disciplines and will extend throughout 2019 in cities in France and Egypt, the result of joint efforts between the French Institute in Cairo and the Egyptian Cultural Centre in Paris.
Details of the programme will be unveiled in time, the French Institute in Cairo said.
Watani International
8 January 2019
