Qatari Song Festival begins Thursday

The festival will be presented in a new style and mark its artistic originality, the organisers have said in a statement.In this context, composer Ali Matar al-Kuwari stressed that the Qatari Song Festival is a milestone that will "bridge the emotional creativity of the Qatari song with the taste of the audience".He noted in statements to local Arabic daily Arrayah that the festival is a step in the right direction and will contribute to promoting a new generation of talents as well as to discovering young talents, whether in singing, writing or composing. He added that the previous two editions of the festival achieved remarkable success and had a positive impact on the local art scene.Regarding his preparations for the festival, al-Kuwari said: The rehearsals have taken place in full swing to prepare for this celebration, through which I will present a group of artworks, most notably the song 'Hanit Al Sidra' composed by him, and the words of Abdul Rahim al-Seddiqi and Tayseer Abdullah. The Qatari composer praised the efforts of the organising committee of the festival, and their efforts to develop it year after year, by increasing the number of nights and providing the opportunity for a larger number of artistes, especially young ones. He added that the previous two editions of the festival witnessed the presentation of 54 songs and the participation of 31 singers and 105 musicians.In its third edition, the Qatari Song Festival will celebrate Qatari sport and its achievements over many years, keeping pace with the successes achieved by Qatar’s champions in various spheres such as football, athletics, equestrian, archery, handball, rallying and other disciplines. The festival will feature sports-related presentations such as 'The Heroes of our Deira' by singer Abdul Rahman al-Mas. It is written by Jassem Safar and composed by Hassan Ali. Ahmed Ali will perform the song 'Oh, our dear team, God is great', while artiste Khaled Salem will revive the song 'Go ahead and God's Eye will take care of you' by artiste Faraj Abdel Karim, while Saud Jassim will perform the song 'Bring back the hero'.