What It’s Like To…Organize Libya’s Inaugural Benghazi Summer Festival

International journalists were invited to witness the resurrection of Libya’s culture industry, enticed by the festival’s grand program and the prospect of seeing Benghazi’s beauty. But was it safe to go? The lineup hardly featured any women; considering that gender is strongly segregated in Libya, would the festival crowds be all male?

The events were structured into family and youth concerts, the latter only attended by men — not because women strictly weren’t allowed, but because it is not common for them to go to such concerts. That, however, might change in the next few years, if the country follows a regional shift towards softening conservative societal rules.

“Hosting these international journalists and artists in a country of which people’s only perception is that it is embroiled in war and violence, made it really hard,” Kwfiya tells OkayAfrica. “Not many people were willing to accept the invite. It’s quite jarring to them. We were trying to convince these people to come because we know once they come here and see how things really are in Benghazi, they would understand how stable the situation really is.”

Since August 1, videos of elated crowds, excited artists, and beautiful landscapes have been flooding our timelines. “The feedback already has been great, whether from artists, attendees, or media, both in the Arab world and globally,” he says. “This has been instrumental in encouraging us to keep this going every year.”

Kwfiya tells OkayAfrica about the festival’s origins, challenges and unexpected lessons in segments edited for length and clarity.

Ahmed Kwfiya: When I first conceptualized the festival four years back, it was initially called ‘Adrenaline Stage.’ I had the idea, but the country was not stable enough to even think about entertainment. Thankfully, the situation has improved drastically; there’s no longer any kind of violent threat. Life is returning to its normal pace, and things are starting to fall back into place. So it felt like it was the right time to begin focusing on the cultural and artistic aspects of society.

We hosted ‘The Night of Legends,’ a predecessor to the festival in February. It saw three boxing matches unfold in Libya for the first time, with Mike Tyson, Balti and Mouh Milano as special guests. Tickets were sold out in less than 12 hours, there were 6000 people in attendance and screens were broadcasting live to 21,000 people outside the venue. Libya was ready. So I pitched the festival idea to Ajyalona Foundation, a recently-founded non-profit organization dedicated to arts, culture and education in Libya, and we began planning right away.

The biggest challenge was that all of us found ourselves organizing a festival for the first time. We had no references. Now that the festival is in full swing, I’m learning that logistics are everything, and that we need to build better media relations with our neighboring countries. You have to learn to be diplomatic and flexible with people and their needs. Also, something really surprising: people love gaming and e-sports and they want more.

I personally liked the Russian Circus the most. As a child, I never went to a circus, so I was living out my childhood dream. Apart from that, the most ‘wow’ was when Ka7la performed live. It was his first time ever performing. He had quit rapping and was signed with me at Adrenaline for five years. I saw those five years of work culminate on stage. There was this moment, when he was performing and saw me watching, and he stopped and made everyone chant ‘Kwifya’ and ‘Adrenaline.’ It transported me back to a moment years ago when I told him, ‘There will come a day when you will perform in this venue’ and he said, ‘No way, you’re crazy.’ This was the most emotional, out-of-this-world moment for me.

I was proud of the Contemporary Art Exhibitions, because the Libyan artists whose works were displayed there have found fame and acclaim in other countries, but not in their home Libya. It was great to see them getting recognition from their own people for the first time; in Benghazi.

The festival exceeded my expectations, I’m amazed at the response. Of course, there are some things that didn’t go exactly as planned. I expected all the events to be sold out, but there were some issues with the ticket printing that hindered the process a bit. Honestly, given it’s year one of this event, I’m really happy with how things are unfolding and the way the youth are responding to this.

I want to tell the world that Libya is not a terrorist state. Libya is a country that loves life and supports the arts. It’s trying as much as it can, despite being worn down after more than a decade of turmoil. It keeps going and breathing life into its land, people and artists. Libya is back and is coming back with strength. Benghazi will be the capital of arts, music, culture and sports. The weather is beautiful. The people are kind and ready to welcome others with open arms. Benghazi isn’t what the media broadcasts.

Special thanks to Egyptian journalist Menna Shanab who transcribed and translated this interview.