Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 2025 kicks off this weekend

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, a multi-arts celebration of Arabic culture, is set to open this Friday night with a powerful theatre show.

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival (LAAF), the longest running annual festival of Arab arts and culture in the UK, will open it’s programme of events for 2025 at the Unity Theatre with Penguin on Friday 11th July – a show described as an ‘uplifting tale of self-acceptance and joy’.

Events in this year’s programme include a concert from Palestinian violin virtuoso Akram Abdulfatta, a Jordanian food and culture experience, embroidery workshops, children’s cinema, and much more.

With three events already sold out, audiences are encouraged to book early to avoid disappointment.

As is now tradition, the festival closes with a free Family Day celebration in Sefton Park’s Palm House on Sunday 20th July.

The festival exists to support and champion creatives from across the Arab region and its diaspora, in the belief that art and creativity have the power to express a shared humanity.

LAAF also celebrates Liverpool’s unique identity; a city, with a global community and brimming with artistry, that looks outwards across the world and welcomes and accepts all who arrive within it.

Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, Councillor Harry Doyle, said:

“Liverpool is proud to once again support the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival — a celebration that reflects the heart of our city: diverse, creative, and welcoming.

In recent years, it has been a challenging times for the cultural sector, but our continued investment in events like Liverpool Arab Arts Festival shows our belief in the power of art to connect and celebrate communities in the unique way that culture and the arts can. It’s a vital part of Liverpool’s cultural calendar and this year’s programme looks exceptionally strong – packed with extraordinary talent, bold ideas, and powerful storytelling that will leave a lasting impression on the audience.”

This year’s festival theme is Nostalgia, which will be explored through a diverse range of disciplines, including music, theatre and performance, visual art, spoken word, literature and film.

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival takes place from 11th to 20th July 2025 across multiple Liverpool venues.

For tickets and more information, click here. 

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