This is Beirut

Return To Elegance: Highlights from Paris Fashion Week

This is Beirut, 08/10 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Paris Fashion Fashion Week Culture Art Luxury

A historic Paris Fashion Week has wrapped up after 10 days of Spring-Summer 2026 womenswear shows, featuring many new faces and hailed by critics as marking a "return to elegance". AFP looks back on the key moments: Global Makeover After a momentous Milan Fashion Week, marked by the absence of the late Giorgio Armani and new creative directors ...

Saudi Arabia Hosts its First Riyadh Comedy Festival

This is Beirut, 07/10 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Comedy Riyadh Comedy Festival Saudi Art Culture

Jokes about geriatric sex and endless profanity have been embraced by Saudi fans at the Riyadh Comedy Festival even as foreign comedians face a backlash for taking part. The star-studded event, backed by a Saudi government body, has driven a wedge through the stand-up scene, as comics who staunchly defend free speech in the West are accused of ...

Nobel Literature Buzz Tips Swiss Postmodernist, Australians for Prize

This is Beirut, 07/10 15:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nobel Prize Literature Culture Art Academy Prize

Swiss postmodernist novelist Christian Kracht and Australia's Gerald Murnane and Alexis Wright are among the favorites for the Nobel literature prize, experts told AFP ahead of the Swedish Academy's much-anticipated announcement on Thursday. The academy made history last year by choosing South Korea's Han Kang, making her the first Asian woman to ...

Stage Chemistry and Shared Vision: Yara Zakhour and Adon Khoury’s 'Radio Transistor'

Marie-Christine Tayah, 06/10 18:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Theater Le Monnot Beirut Culture Art Play

Radio Transistor is a play by Yara Zakhour and Adon Khoury, staged at Le Monnot Theater from October 9 until November 2. Blending comedy with the sharp edges of dark humor, the piece explores human relationships and the fine line between laughter and unsettling truth. Working as a creative duo on stage and in life, Yara and Adon bring a rare ...

Swift Rules North America Box Office with 'Showgirl' Event

This is Beirut, 06/10 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Taylor Swift Album Concert Box Office Culture Art

Taylor Swift is having a very good weekend: after the blockbuster release of her new album The Life of a Showgirl, she triumphed at the North American box office with her special movie theater event. The Official Release Party of a Showgirl raked in an estimated $33 million in the Friday to Sunday period in the United States and Canada, Exhibitor ...

Taylor Swift’s New Album Shatters Streaming Record In Hours

This is Beirut, 04/10 13:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Taylor Swift Music Culture Art Album Concert

Taylor Swift on Friday quickly set a streaming record with The Life of a Showgirl, her new album of bouncy pop songs about love, sex, success — and score-settling — that had fans analyzing every word. Critical opinion of Showgirl ranged from glowing to unimpressed, but fans flocked to Spotify to hear the 12 tracks, making it the most-streamed ...

Taylor Swift Strides into 'Showgirl' Era with Sparkly New Album

This is Beirut, 03/10 13:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Taylor Swift Music Album Culture Concert Art

Taylor Swift is in a sparkling new era. On Friday, she dropped her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, a collection of bouncy pop songs about love, marriage, success — and score-settling. For the hotly anticipated album, the 35-year-old artist reunited with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback, and their influence is clear in the ...

When Art Becomes a Safe Haven

Christiane Tager, 03/10 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

New York economy art investment Lebanon

In an uncertain economic landscape, art is no longer just about decorating walls. For some, it represents a financial refuge where value can literally skyrocket in just a few years. A canvas like Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger (Version ‘O’) sold for more than $179 million, while Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982) fetched $110 ...

Paris to Welcome Free Public Picasso Park, Opening in 2030

This is Beirut, 02/10 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Picasso Paris Museum Art Culture Sculpture

A park featuring Picasso sculptures is to open to the public in central Paris in 2030, with free entry, the head of the city's Picasso Museum told AFP on Sunday. The garden, about the area of two Olympic-size swimming pools, will be an extension to the museum and will contain a dozen bronze sculptures by Pablo Picasso, the official, Cecile Debray, ...

Taylor Swift Turns Showgirl Magic Into Global Pop Spectacle

This is Beirut, 01/10 15:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Taylor Swift Album Music Culture Concert Art

With the meticulously planned release of Taylor Swift's 12th album this Friday, the country singer-turned-pop star demonstrates again that she is as business savvy as she is musically adept. From hints dropped during her last tour in 2024 to movie screenings this coming weekend to accompany the new album's release, "Taylor Swift has perfected ...

Paris Becomes Romantic Stage in 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Series

This is Beirut, 01/10 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Series Paris France U.S. Culture Art

Emily is no longer the only doe-eyed American in Paris: Isabel "Belly" Conklin, lead character in global TV phenomenon The Summer I Turned Pretty, has also moved to the French capital, burnishing its reputation for romance and escapism. The third series of the show ranked first in 120 countries on Amazon Prime when it kicked off in July — ...

AI Actress Sparks Debate: Creator Defends Digital 'Piece of Art'

This is Beirut, 30/09 14:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

AI Actress Culture Art Ethics U.S.

The creator of an AI actress who exploded across the internet over the weekend has insisted she is an artwork, after a fierce backlash from the creative community. Tilly Norwood — a composite girl-next-door described on her Instagram page as an aspiring actress — has already attracted attention from multiple talent agents, Eline Van der ...

Art