Massive Crowds Gather in Damascus for Abeer Nehme Concert, Leading to Ticket Sale Chaos

The Syrian capital, Damascus, witnessed queues different from the traditional queues for bread and gasoline, as crowds gathered in front of the Opera House to buy tickets for the Lebanese singer Abeer Nehme’s concert scheduled for October 9.

Loyal pages and media circulated pictures of queues in front of the “Assad House for Culture and Arts” in Umayyad Square in Damascus. They explained that the tickets ran out within one hour, noting that the Opera House later announced the postponement of the concert for an indefinite time, due to “mourning” for the victims of the Military College incident in Homs.

According to circulating information, queues gathered five hours before the ticket windows opened, on Friday, one day after the drone attack on the Military College in Homs, which necessitated a declaration of mourning by the Syrian authorities. Consequently, people in line faced leaflets describing them as traitors, insensitive, and fifth columnists, while media figures demanded that the party be canceled “in order to respect national sentiments.”

Damascus witnessed a similar event in September 2022, when crowds gathered in queues in front of the Opera House to obtain tickets for the concert of Egyptian singer Hani Shaker, and the matter then developed into fistfights and cases of fainting due to overcrowding and lack of organization.