Hammamet Festival turns 60 with Tunisian women headlining both opening and closing nights

The Festival International de Hammamet (FIH) unveiled its 60th-edition programme on Thursday 3 July at a press conference in Hammamet, confirming that both the opening and closing nights of the landmark summer will be led by Tunisian women artists — a choice the festival's direction described as deliberate.

The edition stands apart in placing its opening and closing nights in the hands of Tunisian women artists, a decision the festival's direction characterised as a conscious act of recognition for women who have contributed to the country's cultural heritage and raised the profile of its artistic scene.

The festival runs from 11 July to 13 August 2026 under the slogan "Endless Memories", with 32 shows featuring artists from 12 countries spanning world music, theatre and dance.

Opening: theatre in tribute to women

The opening night on 11 July is given over to Tunisian theatre, with Wafa Taboubi's play Les Fugueuses. The production is conceived as a tribute to Tunisian women.

The piece is described by organisers as one of Tunisia's most-awarded theatre productions.

Closing: National Women's Day

The festival closes on 13 August — the date that coincides with Tunisia's National Women's Day — with a concert by singer Sofia Sadok.

Sofia Sadok is one of the best-known voices in Tunisian popular music, with a repertoire that spans malouf, tarab and contemporary song. She performed at the Carthage amphitheatre on 13 August 2025, also on National Women's Day, as part of the Carthage International Festival.

A programme across 12 countries

The 60th edition brings together artists from Tunisia, Lebanon, Palestine, the United States, Mali, Spain, Portugal, Cuba, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria and Italy.

The second night, 12 July, features the return of Tunisian oud player and musician Dhafer Youssef with his project Shiraz. Lebanese singer Yasmine Hamdan follows on 13 July, and Spanish artist Bebe on 15 July.

From mid-July the international programme widens to include Gnawa Diffusion (Algeria, 20 July), Big Daddy Wilson (United States, 21 July), The Buena Vista Orchestra (Cuba, 28 July), Salif Keïta (Mali, 31 July), Mariza (Portugal, 1 August) and Mario Biondi (Italy, 2 August).

The Arab strand brings Joseph Attieh (22 July), Palestinian pianist Faraj Suleiman (23 July) and Marcel Khalifé (24 July), among others.

Tunisian creation occupies a prominent share of the programme, with musical and theatrical works by Mehdi Mouelhi, Noor and Selim Arjoun, Selim Ben Safia, Outail Maaoui, Bouthaina Nabouli, Nizar Saidi, Cyrine Gannoun and Moez Achouri.

Several artists will perform in Tunisia for the first time, among them Portuguese fado singer Mariza, who appears alongside Tunisian artist Bouthaina Nabouli.

Sixty years of Mediterranean summer

The Hammamet International Festival is an annual festival of music and art in the coastal city of Hammamet, established in 1964 and held in July and August in an amphitheatre of around 1,000 seats overlooking the Gulf of Hammamet.

It is hosted at the amphitheatre of the Centre Culturel International de Hammamet (CCIH), a historic open-air venue that has anchored the festival's Mediterranean and international vocation for six decades.

Festival director Najib Kasraoui said the festival had become a national cultural asset built across successive generations of artists and audiences, and described the "Endless Memories" theme as pointing forward as much as back — a living memory, not a retrospective one.

Tickets for all performances are on sale at festivaldehammamet.com .