More than 100,000 people attended the activities and concerts held as part of the 28th Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts, organisers said Monday.
"The audience turnout this year exceeded our expectations and the presence of non-Jordanian visitors, mostly from Arab Gulf states, was remarkable" Mohammad Abu Summaqa, the festival’s executive director, told The Jordan Times.
Each concert held in the ancient Roman city of Jerash attracted an average of more than 3,000 attendees, while some performances, such as those by Iraqi singer Kadim Al Saher and Lebanese singer Najwa Karam, were full house and the attendance exceeded the theatre's maximum capacity of 5,000, according to Abu Summaqa.
"The turnout for paid and free activities was high… the number of visitors this year was about 25 per cent higher compared to previous festivals," he said in a phone interview.
"We believe that the attendance was high due to the presence of well-known artists and singers from across the Arab world, and because tickets were cheap and affordable," Abu Summaqa noted.
He said plans for next year's festival are under way and there will be more variety in its activities.
"We are thinking of inviting some internationally known singers such as Shakira".
Some of the singers who took part in the 2013 festival will return next year, Abu Summaqa said, adding that the lineup will include some international singers and performers.
The Jerash Festival, which concluded its activities in the Roman city on Saturday, featured a wide array of artists and singers, including Lebanese singers Aasi Hillani, Nancy Ajram and Dina Hayek.
It continues its activities during Ramadan in Amman at the Royal Cultural Centre.
