Byblos International Festival

The Byblos International Festival is a Lebanese festival held in Byblos, believed to be the first Phoenician city, founded around 5000 BC. The festival is the biggest in Lebanon, and attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world.

History
The International Festival has been held annually since 2003, in July. It takes place by the seaside in the historic quarter, in front of the castle built by Crusaders in the 12th century. The festival's aims are to boost tourism, promote the Lebanese culture, and spread music and art from the Middle East to the rest of the world.

2003

 * Oum (a musical about the life of Umm Kulthum)
 * Gregorian
 * Gotan Project
 * Tosca
 * Blind Boys of Alabama
 * John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

2004

 * Bryan Ferry
 * Star Academy Arab World
 * Erik Truffaz
 * Gabriel Gutierrez
 * Josh Miguel Dabilbil
 * Nash Dela Cruz
 * Jimmy Cliff
 * Munir Bashir Group (a group formed in memory of Munir Bashir)
 * Placebo

2005

 * Roger Hodgson
 * Buena Vista Social Club presents Omara Portuondo
 * Aziza Mustafa Zadeh

2006

 * Francis Cabrel
 * Barbara Hendricks

2007

 * Nouvelle Vague
 * Alessandro Safina

2008

 * Patti Smith
 * Vaya Con Dios
 * Chucho Valdés Quintet
 * Michel Legrand
 * Michel Legrand

On 12 July 2008, midway through the festival, Byblos held a Nuit Blanche. Among those who performed that night were:


 * Lumi
 * Sebastien Tellier
 * Mouse on Mars
 * Munma/Trash Inc.

2009

 * Loreena McKennitt
 * Keane
 * Grease
 * Jethro Tull
 * Misia
 * Gonzales (musician)
 * Cocorosie
 * Y.A.S.

2010

 * Tribute to Wadih el Safi with Najwa Karam and Wael Kfoury
 * Mashrou' Leila
 * Caetano Veloso
 * Jesse Cook
 * Gorillaz
 * Riverdance
 * Le Nozze di Figaro (an opera by Mozart)

2011

 * A musical based on Don Quixote, created by Marwan Ghadi and Oussama Rahbani.
 * Scorpions
 * Moby
 * Florent Pagny
 * Jamie Cullum
 * Thirty Seconds to Mars
 * Amadou & Mariam
 * Les Mystères Lyriques

2012

 * Slash
 * Julien Clerc
 * B.B. King
 * Ute Lemper
 * Kadim Al Sahir
 * Snow Patrol
 * Tinariwen

2013

 * Yanni
 * Nightwish
 * Anuryzm
 * CeeLo Green
 * Lana Del Rey
 * Pet Shop Boys
 * OneRepublic
 * Rahbani Summer Night
 * Paco De Lucia
 * Crazy Opera
 * Scorpions

2014

 * Lang Lang
 * Marcel Khalife
 * Yanni
 * Massive Attack
 * Epica
 * Stromae
 * Mulatu Astatke and Ibrahim Maalouf
 * Guy Manoukian
 * Beirut

2015

 * John Legend
 * The Script
 * Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock
 * Rodrigo Y Gabriela
 * Gregory Porter
 * Mireille Mathieu
 * Hiba Tawaji
 * Sacré Profane
 * Alt-J