Liverpool Arab Arts Festival reveals 2025 dates and first events

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival returns to city venues this summer – and the first events have now been revealed.

The annual festival, at 23 the longest running and most extensive of its kind in the UK, runs from July 11-20 and this year’s theme is Nostalgia.

The 2025 programme includes a performance by violin virtuoso Akram Abdulfattah who will appear at Philharmonic Hall’s Music Room on July 19.

The young Palestinian-American combines jazz with middle eastern and Indian music, with a style that creates a world of fusion music. Rooted in Middle Eastern traditions while influenced by Hindu, Turkish, and Persian styles, Abdulfattah reflects the rich legacy and culture of oriental sounds in a modernised fashion.

Meanwhile it has also been announced that LAAF’s popular annual Family Day will also return for 2025, taking place at Sefton Park Palm House on July 20.

Expect a free afternoon of music, performance and authentic Arab culture, complemented by a range of stalls offering Arabic and Middle Eastern food, arts and crafts, traditional practices such as calligraphy and dance, as well as activities for children, including storytelling and workshops.

Founded in 1998, LAAF exists to support and champion creatives from across the Arab region and its diaspora, in the belief that ‘art and creativity have the power to express a shared humanity’.

The theme Nostalgia evokes a longing for the past, both in individual and collective experiences. Whether rooted in childhood memories or recent defining moments, it often has an idealised or romanticised connotation.

It will be explored through a diverse programme including music, theatre and performance, visual art, literature and film.

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival runs from July 11-20. More details HERE

Top: Violinist Akram Abdulfattah