CAIRO, April 16 (MENA) - Egypt will host the 2025 world's largest painting as a part of a massive artistic and cultural project organized by the Earth Identity Association, a non-profit civil society organization in Japan.

The event is sponsored by the Japanese Embassy in Cairo and the Egyptian Embassy in Tokyo, with the participation of the Japan Foundation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Egyptian-Japanese Schools (EJS)

In statements to MENA Wednesday head of the Egyptian team supervising the competition and the former Egyptian cultural attaché in Japan Gad el-Qady said Egyptian-Japanese school students are participating in this artistic event, drawing paintings on 5x5-meter pieces of canvas, adding that the paintings are then assembled for display in a unified frame, creating the largest artwork in the world.

The former Egyptian cultural attaché said a unified title will be chosen for the designed plaque reflecting Egyptian civilization, along with shared culture binding Egypt and Japan, in addition to addressing global challenges such as climate change and water scarcity.

Organizing bodies also plan to hold the event in prominent heritage and cultural sites in Egypt, Qady noted.

He said the activities will kick off Thursday, with an inauguration celebration at an Egyptian-Japanese school in 6th of October City, attended by representatives of the sponsoring bodies from both Egypt and Japan.

The event will feature an artistic performance by renowned mezzo-soprano French-Egyptian opera singer Farah el Dibany.

Following the inauguration ceremony, the competition's organizing team will head to Luxor and Aswan to prepare for the official competition events, scheduled for December 2025.

It is worth noting that the idea of ​​organizing this competition dates back to a long-standing cooperation that began in 2010 between the Japanese Association and the Egyptian Embassy in Tokyo, represented by the then Egyptian cultural attaché Gad el-Qady.

This partnership developed to include numerous Egyptian participations in the competition’s activities in Japan, especially after the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake that struck eastern Japan and the Fukushima nuclear reactor, where the Egyptian Embassy hosted a group of Japanese students who participated in the competition to introduce them to key Egyptian tourist destinations and cultural landmarks, with a view to boosting cultural exchange and promoting for Egyptian tourism on this occasion.

The competition is being organized in Egypt by Gad el-Kady and on the Japanese side by President of the Japan Earth Identity Association Kuwahara Yumiko.

A group of these paintings is scheduled to be featured in EXPO 2025.

The events were organized last year in the French capital, Paris and visited several countries in East Asia, with the participation of prominent political figures, including Bangladesh Prime Minister Mohamed Yunus.

The core goal of this initiative is to spread a spirit of love and cooperation among peoples of the world and raise awareness of the importance of preserving planet Earth for future generations. (MENA)

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