Festival in one of the most beloved and disputed cities in the world do is to. Say I Love. It i can be connected to my apartment on the surgeon at Subway welcome to in the studio from the b.b.c. World Service today when the company in time out in the news really artistic director of Mecca detonate the Jerusalem season of culture and he penned his last festival it's a beloved place it's the best city in the world it's my fantasy it's my inspiration for stuff. That was. Just truisms the main issue is the main character is the main protagonist of everything that we do from a school weeks doing to make it a ship best of all the time his team bring arts and culture to all areas of Jerusalem the soundscapes the actual past events at installations on the rooftops DOT's film and concerts in the town of David bringing together artists and musicians from every part of the city both east and west Europe. The condition is a Hebrew word that cannot really be translated maybe to sanctify and I think that's the role of art to allow us to go out of a comfort zones to go out of things that we do on a regular basis our automatic responses and when we go out of that that's a sacred moment that's a moment and what we're striving in our festival is to invite people to allow to have more and more of these special moments it's that big I know that I said really big words and we're striving really really high but I think the only reason to do an art and culture festival in Jerusalem is not just to have like nice parties and have just a good time in our city that's important but that's not why we're in the game we're in the game because we believe the culture can bring change and a personal level and big city or not. National or international that was. The biggest event that it has been working on for the festival is happening in Mitchell park close to the walls of the lecture recently this huge open and one night concert is cool calm and a word that has its roots in both people and out of it and means all of us one of the basic premises of the corner night festival of the color Music Festival is bringing the sounds from the neighborhood around us bringing the sounds from the countries around us so why did we not invite a Lebanese singer and player from Egypt or you know from all the different countries around us well that's very simple because we cannot we cannot invite them and they cannot come if they come here I don't know if anybody will let them in from our side and if they will get a special permission to get in if they go back to their countries they will be banned in their countries because they came to perform in this way so you have to have a different concept about it or a different approach to the same concept which was say these are the sounds in the influences of the music that was played in Egypt in Lebanon enjoyed in Iraq in Iran in order to different countries around us that are coming to Jerusalem and being performed on stage by local artists for the 1st time we're going to have artists from the eastern part of Jerusalem which we usually do not take part in these big festivals they're not invited and if they are invited they don't want to take part because of political issues and we're having all kinds of different mixtures on stage and you cannot record to see. This in the media well enough so my out of the nurse his choice of site for the concert is significant it's in what's called the green light or steam line on what was the border between Israeli controlled west and Jordanian controlled East Jerusalem the line that divides the city. 50 years ago this year Israel captured the whole of Jerusalem and extended its boundaries as you might imagine it's a controversial anniversary the city's status remains disputed and Israel's occupation of the east is considered illegal under international law while Israel would like to claim the whole cities and divided capital Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of what they hope will become their future state. So you can begin to see what a festival aims to cross this divide is up against. This part where we're standing right now is where the green line crosses this is a very very important place and a very important landmark that talks about the city that was divided and now is unified or we can ask questions if it is really unified stage one of the biggest events of our festival maybe the biggest event of officer and the spark because it's significant in so many ways but it's very significant to the concept and to the content that we want to deliver in our concert in less than 2 months and this is a concept about being together and the pick of the night is going to be $35.00 different musicians on stage Arabic music and Hebrew music together almost 2000 people that are going to be seated here now you see it's flat we are going to do some massive building as artistic director it tries role is not only to come up with ideas and concepts but also to oversee the teams of people it takes to put on a festival of this guys including the artistic directors responsible for the individual arts and culture elements. But ultimately for all things arts he's the boss so now what I need to do is to go back to the office I'm going to have a meeting with. Music section the music segments of the 1st of all trying to check out how the sales are going and what else do we need to do I have around 6 other artistic directors the work with me and them going into my motherhood state of mind and trying to meet all the other artistic directors so now it's a time to be as open as I can to their problems because they're dealing with the day to day issues about finalizing concepts and that brings a lot of emotions I make them good coffee and give them a good hug to allow them to blossom in what they do. We're just entering our offices and now we're going into the kind of a she wrote the big boarding room that we're going to have a meeting of music segment. And. The I was sad that we burst it in what are we doing now Ok if you compare a month and a half before last year to this year was your feeling about it the sales are much better this year yeah yes and we thought we already have how can we know if we have like a good momentum that we need to write on. My life is a meeting after meeting after meeting after meeting and we next meet before yet another meeting this time it's you the conductor of the Jerusalem east west Tom Cowan it on his own Tom to create and perform in the Khulna concert Tom now lives in Belgium but today is in Israel so they get a rare chance to meet outside a coffee shop. I'm just waiting for the song to arrive Oh I see Tom coming. Along with all that welcome welcome it's good to see you and I'm sorry for the weather I'm sorry that it's too hot here I miss this weather I want to say it it's gravity here Ok. Can you give me a small update about what's going on yeah it's a really cool. Place we're at now in the process because it's exactly the moment where everything starts taping up you know the sculpture comes out of the stones and when we're sitting here about a month and a half before the event when you close your eyes you can see the concert you can really understand how it goes with the flow of it what's the vibe I think the 2 nights ago was the 1st time that they could really see the concert in detail in more details because when I have a night like the one I had 2 nights ago I'm very tired of being people maybe 2 weeks and then having a night knowing that my body physically just wants to shut down but I cannot sleep because I'm running through scenes imaginary scenes of the event I think in a way this is the biggest gift that they get from my from my work it's kind of creating reality or helping reality form and at the end of the day that's the thing with art with music it's kind of magic you create something from nothing. So if for example we have a Luna and Israeli Arab a Palestinian origin and how she defines itself but coming from a Christian family who is a minority in Israel and Apple was part of the Armenian community in Jerusalem and now some are going to the minority of the minority only 1000 people who are totally out of the conversation when you talk about this month Palestine and we talk about you know politics Nevertheless now really big important part in The Tempest Terry yes and then you have and you have a very interesting questions coming out of identity of loyalties here. For me if we have a great statement or the statement passed very clearly but the show wasn't a good product you see at the end of them I'm an entertainer if people did not really really enjoy and felt like they had the musical. Then it's not worth it young lady and I know our hands I mean we're all in the in the same side but just for the sake of the conversation if there's going to be a great music and a concert then everybody will be very happy and dancing and enjoying it and said wow it was worth the money that we bought the ticket with but if I catch people outside ask them what was this concert about and I said I don't know I don't feel anything then for us it would be a failure. The promise of putting a festival in Jerusalem a really major problems and I must say fascinating problems maybe we can use the American term us challenges he said our problems these are challenges because you have a very different population here the vast majority of the population here and there to do lists I think culture is one of the last topics that they have on their list there's a language barrier Palestinian population of the city with a 3rd of the population in the city speaks mostly Arabic they don't speak Hebrew the other 3rd cleric society which is the will to orthodox society speaks not all of them but the vast majority and I speak Yiddish and they don't speak Hebrew and I think that's what makes it fascinating because as curators we cannot only think about ourselves we have to think about the city that we work in. We have to think about terror attacks it is difficult when Americans weeping about it right now it's difficult because it's difficult that's it and I myself I find even some joy in these difficulties because it makes it much more interesting. That this will avoid the troubles of all. Of Us How am I feeling where the nights are becoming shorter and shorter I think because I sleep less and less and the heart pounding faster than it did 2 months ago but on the same time a feeling very much well produced a fear that our team around us is really supportive and every time I meet our team there's a confidence in what they're doing. Hey good morning and know me and the head of the tourism season schedule them at the just a festival at another meeting the cool new team made up of Israelis and Palestinians along with invited guests modernizations across the country meet to discuss how to ensure the audience for the big music concert is reflective and diverse as the musicians on stage who exactly as it would insist who is here where I was how do we approach them we're talking about specific packages for East through the eyes the kind of make it easier for them to come anyway is money where the market is working with issues and we haven't heard anything beyond that if you stir the pot will be good because of the Europeans but is he doing the work or people like that I think probably the most recent stuff but it's only half the stuff that. The cat was. Listening to in the studio from the b.b.c. World and today we're in the company of a timeout now as he prepares for his last best at the artistic director of Megadeth it Jerusalem's 3 and a half weeks of culture. As well as music concerts. Overstaying around 40 different cultural events and as the festival starts people can experience soundscapes designed to allow them to hear things I wouldn't normally come across in their daily lives. And documentaries data to a 5 hour mystery bus tours to meet people from different areas of the city accompanied in English version by the voice of John Murray in the headphones as they guide. Welcome to our journey. Have you found a seat. On. The journey has begun. Crossing boundaries and exploring the city is something that I do a lot sometimes a physical boundaries just an invitation for change or a container in which a question lurks. One of the events that it is particularly proud to have created is called above and beyond a series of art installations high on the rooftops of Jerusalem there you can find a huge poppy mash a volcano designed by the artist Tom Panini billowing smoke close to the seam line the old border between East and West Jerusalem. But this rooftop is an amazing rooftop because it's basically on the streamlining of the $967.00 border and it's worse than a greit beneath it right now and you can see if you look at it it's the connection between the old city and the new city and the volcano is sitting right on that spot . And it's all about going on rooftops and changing your a perspective in a very easy way to change your perspective is basically just stepping up climbing on roofs because some of Glee the city that you know so well looks very very different to you. I'm afraid of volcanoes when I'm abroad I try to catch a volcano because there's something so beautiful about really understanding what is beneath the. And then brought me back this image of Ok No because basically we are sitting here on the Canaan and this volcano bursts out aloft. Taking the volcano that we have throughout the years underneath us which is the unseen volcano and then simply. Lifting it up and putting it on a roof to allow everybody to look at it and maybe to enjoy the presence of this Ok . The festival continues I'm interested to find out what. Does an artistic director do join this time my world right now is 2 different worlds one was to really take care of small details sometimes when you know just now with that we're talking I see my phone bursting and the last semester I got was saying we need to decide now and with big capital letters so sometimes we need to really decide really really fast and on the other hand my role and I think the best one is to have a really good time this is a really really great time because you go out every night you go to great cultural stuff the best times that we can think about and of course dealing with problems and there are always problems you know one of the problems that we're facing right now is the hurricane that goes on we have a band coming from Jamaica we have a problem for them to get the flights so I'm like crisscrossing between dealing with helping the other people deal with what will happen with the hurricane and then the other hand meeting journalists from all over the world that are coming enjoying the night so all this kind of stuff it's a very very very special time. As the 2nd week of the festival approaches the conductor Tom Cohen is back in Israel to host the Jerusalem east west ahead of the big Qana concert a popular songs from across the Middle East many of which he's arranged to spell. For this event it's been 2 months now that when writing their arrangement I just finished a week ago and this week is the big week where her single with the orchestra we eventually finalize the set list of artists that I'm very very proud of we have 9 artists on stage representing I think 9 different faces of Jerusalem of this country in general starting with this and proudly who is Muslim think it was one of the most famous or singles in Israel today decline was also a very big act in Israel Xavier says killer is an Orthodox Jew who is mostly popular without a big crowd sings in Arabic and speaks and writes another big shots about who is great out this really connected to is a game an eye towards the case the poet and Muhammad Mugabi that are both form and show for the refugee camp. Christian from Nazareth point of fossils who represent the Armenian community in chemistry man always big act in their Palestinian scene in the Israeli Arab league scene did I forget anyone how many dimensions they get tonight. And then not. So right now we're on the 7th of September finally we're on the 7th of September after waiting for this date for us so such a long time and so where many days we're going to have the Khulna night tonight the biggest thing that we're doing in our festival this year the stage is already been set I've been there I walked in the field yesterday to see how it goes on the musicians will arrive in a few hours starting 6 30 pm people are going to start to come into the venue and see what we have been planning for the last more than 8 months for them along side there are some we're. Of course and there's also there are always worries and it's it's an inner balance it's an inner fight between being really excited and happy about it and feeling very proud and thrilling a little bit worried about what can happen and what can go wrong so it's a mixed feeling right now and there has been a problem it was the plans for the Conan evening have been met with opposition from organizations campaigning against Israeli settlements in the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation the big thing that happened last week the concert that we're doing was attacked by the b.d.s. Which is a movement which wants to do boycott this invest and sanctions against Israel and our guys are Palestinian guys that are performing live will will perform live to night on stage got a person a phone call they want him to not go on stage and I'm happy to say that none of them agreed with it and they're all are going to be on stage tonight and just to sing and to do their art and to do their music. The slogan for the color festival is celebrating the dream of what the Middle East can be one of the laws of art and culture is to allow all of us to rethink and read remote dream again the dreams that we used to have and maybe that will bring maybe maybe maybe that will bring a change in our reality. That is. Still to. Come but more of. A Palestinian refugee from Jerusalem. I think this is a great opportunity for me as a Palestinian refugee to get on this stage to tell my story and to have no audience I'm part of Jerusalem and there's a Jewish part of Jerusalem there is Christian part of jurors to that there's many cultures and that's what makes Jerusalem special the diversity of it. I favorite moment is when it happens when it really happens because I never feel better and these are the best days of the year you have there I hear you guys actually. I am shouts of are and I'm an Israeli singer I believe that the Israelis the no matter from which origin of the Arabic or Jews or Arabic Jews or Ashkenazi Jews have more in common than they usually think and in my work I am for size this and really glad to be part of this kind of concert that brings this ideology to the front of the Israeli culture scene. Where you know there has to be on. The show has been a spell out with audiences from across to east and west and east I can see the sponsors and I think it's a love but creating an atmosphere where all of us can live in peace. As you can see everyone is here for Binion's you have this right you have all of us standing here and there is Jos a land mine that's made it one more confident the camp I can look from said to the people from south but they are going to. I think that's the concerts and the festival being located along this line is extremely significant I think it's a place where we come across one another daily but we don't necessarily see. To look at each other and to sing together and this is a special moment for us to meet at this meeting point how. Am. I. Getting the population or the crown from the East Jews and we planned a lot of things and I'm happy to say that most of the things that we planned did happen 1st of all we did a complaint in East Jerusalem we were abl