Yesterday, June 11, 2003 Columbian-Lebanese international pop star Shakira Mubarak arrived in Beirut airport in an unexpected visit that kept everyone in shock. The singer arrived on Air France with her parents in an attempt to get to know Lebanon.
According to the London based daily, Al Sharq Al Awsat, Shakira’s visit will be focused mainly on visiting her father’s town Zahla, to meet relatives and become better acquainted with her roots. It was revealed that her stay in Lebanon is strictly for leisure and she will not be holding any performances.
Organizer of the Beit El Din Festival, Nour Janbalat, was able to successfully reach an agreement with Lebanese-Colombian pop/rock singer Shakira Mebarak to hold a concert in Lebanon, after failing to do so earlier this year. The date of the concert has been decided to be around the end of September or early October of this year, since the singer is preoccupied with holding concerts elsewhere. Cutting the deal with Shakira that previously was out of the question was a great achievement for Nour.
It was also officially confirmed that Shakira is to hold a grand performance in Tunisia in late September. Negotiations with the singer had lasted for months before any agreement was reached and after the previous cancellation by Shakira of all possibilities of performing in the Middle East due to the US-led war on Iraq.
Shakira will hold the scheduled concert at the grand November Seventh stadium, which can accommodate a crowd of seventy thousand. It was added that a large staff of sound, lights, and stage experts working for Shakira will head to Tunisia to make all the necessary preparations for the grand event that is expected to be the main highlight ever to hit Tunisia since 1996 when American superstars Michael Jackson and Sting held their concerts.
Multicultural Shakira is one of a growing number of Latin American singers making a splash on the US pop charts. Her latest album, "Laundry Service," has sales approaching 10 million albums worldwide. Her music combines rock, pop, Latin and Arabic sounds. Shakira also plays guitar and writes most of her songs, which allows her to control its content and style, something she is very keen on. – Albawaba.com
