Bet Lahem Live is a 4-day long annual cultural festival in

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, West Bank,

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, first celebrated in the summer of 2013. As of 2019, Bet Lahem Live attracts over 25,000 local and international guests to the heart of Bethlehem for arts, music, food, and group workshops. The festival is put on by the

Holy Land Trust Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

, a Palestinian non-profit organization based in Bethlehem. The festival started as a way to revitalize

Star Street Star Street ( ar, شارع النجمة) is one of Bethlehem's oldest commercial streets, connecting the northern part of the Old City to the southern part. Most of the buildings along Star Street were built in the 19th century. Prior to the Sec ...

in the Old City of Bethlehem, one of Bethlehem's oldest commercial streets, and a traditional pilgrimage route for Christians. After the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...

in 2001, there was a sharp decline in tourism and business in Bethlehem, which forced many of the shops on the street to close.

Sami Awad Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

, founder of the Holy Land Trust which is also based on Star Street, used the festival to bring international tourism to Bethlehem, and many shops set up on the street specifically for the festival. A number of international artists have taken part in the festival, including

Marcus Mumford Marcus Oliver Johnstone Mumford (born 31 January 1987) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the band folk band Mumford & Sons. He also plays a number of instruments with the group ...

and

Winston Marshall Winston Aubrey Aladar deBalkan Marshall (born 20 December 1987) is an English musician and podcaster. He is best known as the former banjoist and lead guitarist of the British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. Prior to this he was in the bluegrass ...

of Mumford & Sons,

Beth Rowley Beth Ann Rowley is an English singer-songwriter. Early life Rowley was born in Peru to British parents who moved back to Bristol, England when Rowley was two years old. Career Early career She was influenced by her family's love for many differ ...

, and

Kal Lavelle Kal Lavelle is an Irish singer-songwriter based in London. Lavelle's first EP; ''Shivers'' was self-released in June 2011, and reached No. 5 in the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart. Following the release of her EP, Lavelle went on tour with Ed She ...

External links

Festival information

References

Festivals in the State of Palestine Festivals established in 2013 Bethlehem Music venues in the State of Palestine {{festival-stub