“Insulting conditions” .. Mohamed Tharwat reveals the secret of his withdrawal from the Arab Music Festival

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In a statement characterized by transparency and respect for his artistic history, the great Egyptian singer Mohamed Tharwat broke his silence to put dots on the reasons for his sudden withdrawal from participating in the activities of this year’s edition of the Arab Music Festival, which is scheduled to be held in Cairo during the period from 20 to 30 October.

Tharwat explained that he preferred to stay away from the skirmishes, saying: “I am a man who values ​​my status and history, and I know very well when and where to speak, so I preferred not to reveal through the media the details of what happened inside an entity that I love and cherish, which is the Egyptian Opera House. He made it clear that he would present its reasons in full, and documented, at the appropriate time and place.”

The Egyptian artist denied that his decision to withdraw was related to financial disputes or artists’ wages, stressing that he had already waived more than 75% of his due wages for the concert.

He continued, saying: “Anyone who knows my history knows that my relationship with art and opera was never material, and the last of that was my unpaid participation in the two Egyptian Cultural Week concerts in the State of Qatar with the Opera House and the Ministry of Culture, as well as the orchestra’s concert in Morocco in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs, as a dedication from me and a representation of my country, Egypt.”

Tharwat clearly criticized the method of presenting wages in the festival’s press conference, stressing that the artist, whether he receives a wage or donates it, deserves full appreciation, and it is not permissible to reduce it to numbers or make the ancient institution appear financially helpless.

He added that disclosing such details harms the value and stature of every participating Egyptian and Arab artist, before it affects those who apologized.

Regarding the direct and fundamental reason for his decision, Tharwat stressed that his objection stems from the core of professional ethics out of respect for artistic figures, refusing to turn the lofty message of art into a discussion or disagreement about budgets.

He revealed the details of the contract crisis, saying: “I did not sign my contract for participation in the Arab Music Festival for the year 2026, and I requested that my name not be announced before completing the contract and amending some clauses, including a clause that holds me legally responsible for the works that I will perform for other artists and heritage songs such as the works of the nightingale Abdel Halim Hafez and the musician Mohamed Abdel Wahab, even though I do not own their intellectual rights.

He added, “Although I received a promise to delete this arbitrary clause, it has not been amended yet.”

It is noteworthy that these statements come at a time when the Arab Music Festival is going through a wave of sharp apologies. The past few days witnessed the withdrawal of an elite group of major singing stars, most notably Ali Al-Hajjar, Mai Farouk, and Mohamed Mohsen, coinciding with the official resignation of Dr. Reda El-Wakil from his position as President of the Cairo Opera House and President of the Festival.