Sharm el Sheikh Events and Festivals

(Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt)

Sharm el Sheikh plays host to a number of annual festivals, many of which are unique to the city.

Nationwide celebrations are honoured, while specific events include fishing competitions in both May and November, and Sharm el Sheikh's world-famous International Shopping and Tourism Festival, which is held each July and always draws large crowds.

Celebrations mean that visitors are able to experience true Egyptian traditions and interact with locals during these distinctive activities. Worth looking out for are the fun races at the International Camel Competition every April, followed by the National Fishing Competition each May and the International Diving Competition held later in the year, in October. Most of the national holidays in Egypt also come with an array of things to do and enjoy.

National Public Holidays

• New Year's Day - January 1st
• Coptic Christmas - January
• Coptic Easter - March / April
• Sham an-Nessim - March / April
• Sinai Liberation Day - April 25th
• May Day - May 1st
• Liberation Day - June 18th
• Revolution Day - July 23rd
• Wafa'a el-Nil - August 15th
• Coptic New Year - September
• Armed Forces Day - October 6th
• Suez Victory Day - October 24th
• Victory Day- December 23rd

Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• Coptic Christmas - this religious holiday is held at the beginning of January. The Coptic residents of the city celebrate with colourful parades, musical concerts and religiously significant theatre
• Islamic New Year - this festival is also known as Al Hijra and is held in celebration of the day when Mohammed travelled from Mecca to Medina

February

• Union Day - this public holiday is held on February 22nd

March

• Coptic Easter - this important festival in the Coptic calendar is a time for Coptic Christians to visit their families and serve giant feasts in remembrance

April

• Sinai Liberation Day - April 25th honours the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Sinai Peninsula after the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty was signed in 1979
• Shem al Nessim - is the first day of the new spring and is translated as 'sniffing the breeze'. The first day of spring is always celebrated on the first Monday after Coptic Easter. It is a national holiday so many shops and businesses will be closed at this time
• International Camel Competition - sees some of the region's best camels competing against each other in a race to find the fastest camel in the whole of Sinai

May

• Labor Day - held on May 1st is a public holiday for all Egyptians
• National Fishing Competition - this traditional event dates back to when the city of Sharm el Sheikh was just a simple fishing village. It sees some of the region's best fishermen compete

June

• Evacuation Day - this public holiday, held in June, remembers the evacuation of foreign troops in 1954

July

• Revolution Day - this public holiday is held on July 23rd and marks the 1952 Revolution when the Egyptian constitutional monarchy was overthrown
• International Shopping and Tourism Festival - aims to boost tourism figures in the city by targeting shops and stalls. Discounts are offered and hotel rates and restaurant prices are reduced

August

• Flooding of the Nile - the start of the Nile's flood season is marked in mid-August

September

• Ramadan - held during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar is a month of fasting between dawn to dusk, in order to develop devoutness and encourage self-discipline

October

• Armed Forces Day - October 6th, held in remembrance of the crossing of the Suez Canal by Egyptian forces during the Yom Kippur War
• Egyptian Naval Day - the destruction of the Israeli destroyer Eilat in 1967 is remembered
• Suez Victory Day - October 24th is a national holiday commemorating the efforts of Egyptian forces in Suez during the Suez Crisis
• Eid al-Fitr - celebrates the end of Ramadan with three days of feasting. There is also the public slaughtering of sheep and goats
• International Diving Competition - sees competitors from across the world compete for the first prize

November

• International Fishing Competition - a similar event to the one held in May, this competition sees international fisherman travelling to the city to compete

December

• Victory Day - held on December 23rd, this national holiday remembers the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and a number of Arab nations which included Egypt