Third World Culture Festival opens in Karachi with 1,000 artists from 150 countries
A stage production at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi (file photo).
KARACHI: The third World Culture Festival Karachi formally opened on Friday as Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah inaugurated the 25-day celebration at the Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi. The festival runs until November 22, turning the city’s halls and stages into a meeting point for cultures from around the world.
Around 1,000 artists from nearly 150 countries are taking part this year, alongside more than 500 Pakistani artists from all four provinces. Organisers describe it as the largest cultural gathering in Pakistan’s history.
**Festivities began a day early**
The festival actually got going on Thursday, when a hip-hop dance performance and a Qawwali night drew thousands of spectators. The formal inauguration followed on Friday, with Arts Council President Muhammad Ahmed Shah and Sindh Culture and Tourism Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah briefing the media on the programme.
**What is on the programme**
Over 25 days, audiences will see theatre, music, dance, art exhibitions and mega concerts. Spanish flamenco performers, artists associated with the British Royal Ballet, around 70 performers from two Russian dance groups and Tajikistan’s presidential orchestra are all on the bill. ‘Layla Majnun’ is scheduled for October 31, performed by Iranian-origin artists based in France and the United Kingdom.
**Almost entirely free**
Between 97 and 98 per cent of the festival’s activities are free for the public, organisers said, though online registration is required, and registration for an event may close once the venue fills up.
**A message of peace**
Ahmed Shah said the festival was not about setting records but about carrying a message of peace, equality, love and cultural harmony to the world. On the occasion, the Arts Council also signed cultural exchange memorandums with Ecuador and Mexico.
The first edition, in 2024, drew artists from 43 countries; the second, from 144. This year the figure has crossed 150 — proof, the organisers say, that art knows no boundaries.
