Coronavirus Paralyzes the Cultural Events Map in Downtown Cairo

The Cabinet’s instructions and the presidency’s decision to ban gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus had a wide-ranging impact on many cultural and artistic centers in Downtown Cairo and Zamalek. We list the most important ones here, as many cultural centers and venues recently joined the list of places that suspended or canceled their activities. Following the Cabinet’s instructions last week to ban gatherings, the Ministry of Culture announced the cancellation and suspension of all cultural and artistic activities scheduled to take place in March at its affiliated cultural houses. The French Cultural Center also suspended all its artistic events last week while keeping the institute open for students. This continued until a presidential decision was issued to suspend schooling in Egypt for two weeks as a precautionary measure to limit infection with the novel coronavirus. Following the decision, the institute issued a statement announcing the closure of all its branches in Egypt for two weeks in implementation of the decision. As for El Sawy Culturewheel, following the Cabinet’s instructions last week, it published a statement announcing that its concerts and events would continue while taking all safety measures. Once the presidential decision was issued on Saturday, ١٤ March, El Sawy decided to suspend all its activities as a precautionary measure to prevent the virus. Before the Cabinet’s instructions, the Cairo Literary Festival administration announced that it was postponing the festival for the same reasons. Following last Saturday’s presidential decision, many festivals and artistic and cultural centers joined the list. Zawya Cinema, the Spanish Cultural Institute, the Italian Cultural Institute, Garden City Apartment, El Dammah Theatre, and the Tahrir Cultural Center announced that they were suspending their events until further notice.