{"id":6884,"date":"2026-11-09T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madeinliban.com\/best-lebanese-festivals-theatres-and-cultural-venues\/"},"modified":"2026-11-09T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T08:00:00","slug":"best-lebanese-festivals-theatres-and-cultural-venues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madeinliban.com\/es\/best-lebanese-festivals-theatres-and-cultural-venues\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Lebanese Festivals, Theatres and Cultural Venues"},"content":{"rendered":"

This guide points you to the Lebanese festivals, stages and cultural spaces worth planning a trip or an evening around.<\/strong> Lebanon packs a lot of culture into a small country, from summer concerts among Roman ruins to independent theatres and art spaces in Beirut. Many of these places were founded during or just after the civil war, and several have rebuilt after hard years. Here is where to start.<\/p>\n

How we chose<\/h2>\n

Every festival, company and venue here is listed in the Made in Liban directory and is based in Lebanon. We favoured places with a clear program and a documented history, and we mixed big summer festivals with smaller independent spaces so there is something for different tastes. We have not attended every event listed; the descriptions come from each listing’s published information.<\/p>\n

Summer and winter festivals<\/h2>\n

Baalbeck International Festival<\/a><\/h3>\n

Lebanon’s oldest summer festival puts its stage between the temples of Jupiter and Bacchus in the Bekaa. Launched in 1956, it went silent for about 22 years during the civil war and returned in 1997. Its early Lebanese Nights productions helped launch Fairouz and the Rahbani Brothers, and today the program mixes classical music, opera, dance, theatre, jazz and world music, usually across July and August. Visit Baalbeck International Festival<\/a><\/p>\n

Beiteddine Art Festival<\/a><\/h3>\n

Held in the courtyards of Beiteddine Palace in the Chouf Mountains, this non-profit festival first ran in the summer of 1985, in the middle of the war. The main courtyard, Al Midan, seats about 5,000 people for orchestras, operas and musicals, while the palace’s vaulted halls become exhibition rooms. Most of its budget comes from ticket sales, and it produces its own shows, especially Lebanese plays. Visit Beiteddine Art Festival<\/a><\/p>\n

Byblos International Festival<\/a><\/h3>\n

By the sea in the old quarter of Byblos, facing a 12th-century Crusader castle, this July festival leans toward international pop, rock and electronic acts alongside Lebanese artists. A non-profit committee runs it, and the free Off Byblos series gives emerging performers a stage. Concerts were first held in the town from 1968 to 1975, and the festival has run every year since 2003. Visit Byblos International Festival<\/a><\/p>\n

Al Bustan Festival<\/a><\/h3>\n

For those visiting outside summer, Myrna Bustani’s festival runs for about five weeks across February and March. Founded in 1994, it is built around a new theme each edition and centres on the Emile Bustani Auditorium at the Al Bustan Hotel in Beit Mery, with other concerts in churches and cultural sites. Expect classical concerts, opera and chamber music, plus public master classes. Visit Al Bustan Festival<\/a><\/p>\n

Irtijal<\/a><\/h3>\n

Arabic for improvisation, Irtijal is Beirut’s long-running festival of experimental music, started by Mazen Kerbaj and Sharif Sehnaoui with a first concert in 2000. Free jazz, noise, electronics and sound art move between independent venues such as Zoukak Studio and Beirut Art Center. It marked its 25th anniversary in 2024. Visit Irtijal<\/a><\/p>\n

Theatre and dance<\/h2>\n

Al Madina Theatre<\/a><\/h3>\n

Founded in 1994 by actress and director Nidal Al Achkar, Masrah Al Madina has occupied the renovated Saroulla cinema on Hamra Street since 2005. Its program runs from Arabic plays, including adaptations of Shakespeare and Cervantes, to a cin\u00e9-club, book signings and workshops. A smaller 110-seat stage, Fada al-Madina, recently opened alongside it for younger artists. Visit Al Madina Theatre<\/a><\/p>\n

Zoukak Theatre Company<\/a><\/h3>\n

This horizontal theatre collective, formed in 2006, makes devised work and treats theatre as social and political engagement. Its studio in Karantina reopened in 2022 after the port explosion damaged it, and since 2013 it has curated the international Zoukak Sidewalks festival. Much of its work also happens off stage, through drama therapy and psychosocial workshops. Visit Zoukak Theatre Company<\/a><\/p>\n

Caracalla Dance Theatre<\/a><\/h3>\n

Started around 1970 by Abdel Halim Caracalla, a dancer from Baalbeck who studied with Martha Graham, the company blends classical ballet, modern dance and Arab dance in large productions drawn from regional heritage. Ivan Caracalla now directs and Alissar Caracalla choreographs. Their show Kan Ya Ma Kan opened the 27th Beiteddine Art Festival in 2012 with the Lebanese Philharmonic playing live.<\/p>\n

Film and contemporary art spaces<\/h2>\n

Metropolis Cinema<\/a><\/h3>\n

Opened in 2007 by curator Hania Mrou\u00e9 and producer Georges Schoucair, Metropolis was Lebanon’s first art-house cinema. It built its name on curated programs of independent and international films and on scriptwriting workshops that helped Lebanese independent cinema grow. It is the place to look for films that commercial screens do not carry.<\/p>\n

Ashkal Alwan<\/a><\/h3>\n

Curator Christine Tohm\u00e9 founded this contemporary art non-profit in the early 1990s. It runs the Home Works forum every two to three years and, since 2011, the tuition-free Home Workspace Program, which takes 10 to 15 fellows a year with a monthly stipend. Exhibitions, talks and screenings fill the calendar between those. Visit Ashkal Alwan<\/a><\/p>\n

Mina Image Centre<\/a><\/h3>\n

Photographer Fouad Elkoury was among the founders of this non-profit image centre, opened in 2018 in the Stone Gardens building in Beirut’s port district. The August 2020 explosion, about fifty metres away, destroyed the space, and it reopened in March 2022. Its Reels of Beirut program showed about 50 films of the city before 1975. Visit Mina Image Centre<\/a><\/p>\n

Tips<\/h2>\n