Assi El Hallani apologizes for "Arabic Music" after Wael Jassar

Lebanese artists Assi El-Hellani and Wael Jassar have apologized for not participating in the 32nd Arab Music Festival, which will be held in Egypt during the current month of October. This is in contrast to Lebanese artist Abeer Nehme, who announced that the proceeds from her participation in the festival “will be allocated to affected families in Lebanon.”

Assi El Hallani apologizes to the Egyptian audience Assi El Hallani said on his official Instagram account: “Given the current situation and the brutal aggression that my beloved country Lebanon is facing, I apologize to the organizers of the Arab Music Festival at the Egyptian Opera House for not participating in the festival in its 32nd session with a concert on October 14 at the Cairo Opera House, and a concert on October 17 at the Sayed Darwish Theater in Alexandria.”

Al-Halani added: “My sincere thanks to the festival management for their kind invitation. I also apologize to the beloved Egyptian audience, hoping for a soon meeting in beloved Egypt, praying to God to remove this aggression from my country, with my prayers for mercy for all the righteous martyrs, and my prayers for a speedy recovery for all the injured, and my wishes for peace and security for my country and for all Arab countries and peoples.”

Wael Jassar: Lebanon is in pain As for Wael Jassar, he previously announced that he apologized for not participating in the Arab Music Festival, after he was scheduled to perform a concert on October 12, due to the situation in Lebanon.

Wael Jassar said during a phone call with the "Hadith Al-Qahira" program presented by Karima Awad on the "Cairo and the People" channel: "Regarding the Arab Music Festival, yesterday they called me and I apologized for the festival, even though it was an honor for me to be at the Arab Music Festival."

He added: "There are many artists who wish to participate in it and stand on the stage of the Opera House, but Lebanon is in pain and we are psychologically destroyed, meaning how are we going to hold a concert while people are homeless and many are being martyred? Are we going to go out and sing? This is a very difficult thing. My mind did not comprehend this matter and I decided to apologize for the Arab Music Festival."

Wael Jassar continued: "It was one of my dreams to stand on the stage of the Opera House and thank all those in charge of the festival and apologize to them. I am sure that the entire Egyptian people are with me in this decision because it is a 100% sound and right decision."

Wael Jassar revealed the situation in Lebanon, saying: “In Lebanon, we hear the sound of the bombing in a very frightening way. We are a little far from the bombing, but we hear it and we do not sleep at night. We live in terror and fear. Thank God, we still sleep comfortably on a pillow, but there are people sleeping on the roads in pain and not eating. There are people who are cold. We have started the winter season. May God have mercy on all the martyrs and heal the wounded, God willing.”

Concert tickets fate Khaled Dagher, director of the Arab Music Festival, confirmed in a statement to the government website “Al-Ahram Gate” that Lebanese artists Assi El-Hellani and Wael Jassar had officially apologized for participating in the festival “due to the current situation in Lebanon.”

The festival management will refund the concert tickets to the audience within the next few hours. He also confirmed that attempts are currently being made to communicate with other artists to replace their concerts, and if an agreement is not reached with them, the two days of the festival’s activities will be cancelled.