Babel's 14th International cultural festival opened

The 14th Babel's international festival for folk arts was opened on Sunday evening in the Iraqi ancient city of Babel with the participation of 41 artistic teams from 28 Arab and foreign countries.

The inaugural ceremony was marked by "writing innovation" opera, followed by artistic shows for the people's traditional bands from Venezuela and Indonesia and several songs were performed by the Moroccan singer Qater al-Nada.

Among countries taking part in the 10- day festival are Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, besides Belgium, Italy, Japan, Sweden and China.

The festival includes folkloric performances, a play and photograph and book exhibitions and cultural seminars.