Kadim Al Sahir .. According to reports, musicians from two different eras of Iraqi music will take the stage during the opening ceremony of the Arabian Gulf Cup football competition on Friday.
The Iraqi vocalists Rahma Riad and Hussam Al-Rassam, together with the Arab pop sensation Kadim Al Sahir, are going to be performing together at the next concert.
In spite of the fact that neither the organisers of the competition nor the singers have made an official statement on social media, the story has received extensive coverage in the Iraqi press.
A performance by the group is scheduled to take place at the Basra International Stadium before the first match of the tournament, which will be between the host country and Oman. The whole event will take place over the course of two weeks.
The participation of the musicians would be a major coup not only for the tournament, which is now in the midst of its 25th iteration, but also for the community of football players and fans in Iraq.
The world governing body of football, known as Fifa, decided to remove the prohibition on holding international events in Iraq one year ago. The embargo had been in place because of safety concerns.
The three musicians are each well established in their respective fields prior to the competition.
The audience favourite will surely be Al Sahir, who is famous for classics like “Ana Wa Laila” (which translates to “Me and Laila”), “Ha Habibi,” and “Dhomni Ala Sadrak.”
As one of the most successful performers in Iraq, he is not new to performing in front of large audiences. At the opening event of the Infinite Nights concert series held at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Al Wasl Plaza in 2021, he was the first artist to perform.
Al Sahir is one of the most popular singers from the Arab area and has been releasing music since the 1980s. He has been given the nickname “the Caesar of Arabic melodies” and is considered to be Iraq’s ambassador to the rest of the world.
Riad will also be ready to travel after having recently participated in the closing ceremony of the Qatar World Cup which took place a month ago.
Born to the well-known Iraqi singer Riad Ahmed, the artist made their first big splash in 2010 when they participated in the television talent show Star Academy. Since then, they have launched a successful career with hits such as Al Kawkab and Waed Menni. The latter of these songs, which was released in 2018, has amassed more than 200 million streams on YouTube.
Light the Sky is her most recent release and features fellow Arab musicians Balqees, Manal, and Nora Fatehi. It was chosen as the official song for the Qatar World Cup.
Al Rassem is able to capture the essence of the moment with his unique blend of balladry and robust Iraqi folk tunes.
His performance of the official team song Jeeb El Kass (Bring the Cup) for the 2007 Asian Cup served as the music for the team’s run to the title of winners of the tournament.
On January 19, the last match of the Arabian Gulf Cup will be played, bringing the tournament to a close.
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