Ruler of Sharjah supports global mission to restore historic Beirut Grand Theatre

Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, will provide financial support to help to restore a Lebanese theatre abandoned decades ago.

Sheikh Dr Sultan is backing an international effort led by Unesco, the cultural arm of the UN, to renovate the Beirut Grand Theatre in the heart of the country's capital.

The curtain came down on a once thriving theatre when it was damaged during the civil war from 1975 to 1990.

The landmark building, which opened in 1929, has been disused in the years since, but assistance from Sharjah is adding momentum to a mission to take it to its former glory.

Abdullah Al Owais, chairman of the Sharjah Department of Culture, attended a ceremony in Beirut on Thursday to confirm the emirate's contribution to the rehabilitation campaign. Details of funding provided by the Sharjah government were not disclosed.

The gathering in Beirut was also attended by Ghassan Salameh, Minister of Culture for Lebanon; Audrey Azoulay, director general of Unesco; Ibrahim Zeidan, Mayor of Beirut; and a number of officials, academics, technicians, and engineers.

Mr Salameh thanked Sheikh Dr Sultan for being the "principal donor" of the initiative an praised his ongoing commitment to promoting culture.

Mr Al Owais stressed the importance of global collaboration in preserving cultural heritage for future generations.

“We are pleased to participate in this occasion, which affirms the joint efforts to preserve Arab and global cultural heritage and support cultural progress for all societies,” Mr Al Owais said.

Sharjah's support further highlights the UAE's commitment to protecting and regenerating cultural attractions in the region and beyond.

This week, a UAE-led project was completed which has restored historic landmarks in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, erasing some of the last examples of ISIS destruction.

The seven-year project in the 2,500-year-old city involved the reconstruction of Al Nuri Mosque and its leaning minaret, along with the churches of Our Lady of the Hour Convent and Al Tahera.

Sheikh Dr Sultan is a dedicated and long-standing champion of culture and heritage in the Arab world.

In 2022, he directed a grant to restore and modernise the Gibran Museum in the Lebanese town of Bsharri.

Sharjah has been a staunch ally of Lebanon in recent years as the country seeks to emerge from a troubled recent history.

In May, the emergency and trauma unit at a Lebanese hospital that was destroyed in the 2020 Beirut port explosion became a beneficiary of Sharjah's philanthropic vision.

The Big Heart Foundation, a global humanitarian organisation based in the Sharjah, contributed Dh8.7 million ($2.36 million) to reconstruct and expand the facility at the 147-year-old Saint George Hospital University Medical Centre in Lebanon's capital.

The hospital is about half a kilometre from the port and bore the brunt of the explosion, which killed more than 200 people and left thousands injured.