Byblos Festivals revive Lebanon

International Byblos Festival has set an ambitious line up for 2013. On Wednesday the Lebanese Minister of Culture Gaby Lyon attended the festival with Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud. They talked about this year's festival which is full of concerts featuring international bands. 2013 marks the 14th year of the festival, with last year’s attendance exceeding 40,000 according to official sales figures. Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud said "we are in a country that wants to live, the people of Jbeil have turned the city into a tourist attraction, fighting against the unforgiving atmosphere.  We cannot forget what is going on around us, but what is important is the success of the festival.” Jbeil Mayor Ziad Hawat called on tourists to spend the summer visiting festivals in Lebanon. The international artist Winnie will open the festival on June 30 with two concerts. This will be followed by 9 programmes over twelve nights with concerts starting at 20.30 and 21.00 in Ramadan.