The “Beit Sahour Nights” festival lights up the Old City

As part of Beit Sahour Expatriates Week, the Old City hosted the first night of the “Beit Sahour Nights” festival on the evening of Sunday 26 July 2026, with large crowds of residents, expatriates and visitors, in a festive atmosphere that reflected the city’s character and the vitality of its heritage.

The evening began with a festive procession from the Beit Sahour Municipality building to the entrance of the old market, led by Mayor Laith Hazim Qumsiyeh, members of the Municipal Council, the president and members of the Beit Sahour USA Association and representatives of Arab Bank, the festival’s sponsor, together with the city’s expatriates and many heads and representatives of local institutions. A ribbon was then cut to open the festival in the square of Virgin Mary’s Well, before a large gathering of the city’s people.

The festival, presented by Basil Khair and Celine Ayyad, opened with the Palestinian national anthem played by the Shepherds Scout Group, followed by a minute’s silence in memory of the nation’s martyrs.

In his speech, the Mayor welcomed those present, with special words of welcome and appreciation for Beit Sahour’s expatriates, whose participation gave the festival a character of its own. He said the event embodies the national, social and cultural dimensions of the city, praised the spirit of solidarity that distinguishes Beit Sahour and the wide participation of the city’s institutions in all the activities, thanked everyone who contributed to the week’s success, and affirmed that Expatriates Week will become an established annual tradition and a distinctive national hallmark of Beit Sahour.

The programme continued with a musical performance by the Jilan ensemble of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, led by Beit Sahour’s Mr. Tamer Al-Sahouri, who played a selection of traditional pieces. The Baqoun Folklore Dance Group, led by Mr. Michel Qumsiyeh, performed traditional dabke that reflected Palestinian identity and delighted the audience, and Mr. Johnny Musleh recited poetry that brought a literary and national note to the evening.

The festival also featured a show by Sahouri designers Khawla Al-Tawil, Fatina Qubti Khair and Heidi Hanouneh, in which young women of Beit Sahour presented designs combining tradition and modernity that showed the beauty of Palestinian dress with elegant contemporary touches.

The first night of “Beit Sahour Nights” closed with a concert by singers Afram Shiou and Chris Abu Jaris, led by Beit Sahour’s maestro Issa Abu Hashish, who performed traditional and national songs that took the audience back to the memories of an earlier time, ending one of the finest evenings of Beit Sahour Expatriates Week in an atmosphere full of affection, belonging and pride in the city’s identity and heritage.