Baalbeck International Festival

The Baalbeck International Festival takes place every summer among the Roman ruins of Baalbek, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Founded in the 1950s and revived in 1997 after a long hiatus caused by the civil war, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious cultural events in the Middle East, spanning classical music, opera, jazz, dance and theatre. Its striking setting inside the ancient temples of Jupiter and Bacchus has hosted both Lebanese icons like Fairouz and the Rahbani brothers and international names such as Sting and Charles Aznavour.