Opening Ceremony
The festivities were officially launched on January 18, 2008 with fireworks and a spectacular visual and light show at the Umayyad Square. The opening ceremony included levitated dancing, musical segments, floating acrobatics, and hot air balloons. The ceremony was attended by the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad who was introduced by the legendary Syrian/Arab movie-star Muna Wassef. Foreign guests included the Turkish president Abdullah Gul, the Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa and the secretary general of the Arab League Amr Moussa.
The Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad, attended a concert at the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain along with Queen Sophia of Spain on January 31, 2008. The concert was a musical presentation of the poems of Wallada bint al-Mustakfi the daughter of Muhammad III of Córdoba, one of the last Umayyad Caliphates in Spain.
For the opening ceremony of Damascus, Arab capital of Culture 2008 Studio Festi proposed the show Le Rideau se Lève (the Curtain Rises), designed and produced by Monica Maimone e Valerio Festi.
The show afforded citizens of Syria the first opportunity to witness a grand 'piazza' celebration. To the collective emotion that the show aroused, the grand finale was added: a fireworks concert witnessed by the 1.6 million inhabitants of Damascus, launched from the hills of Mount Qasioun.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Arab Capital Of Culture
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