Hundreds of people attend a concert in Beirut to protest the cancellation of the "Leila Project"

Hundreds of people attended a concert in Beirut on Friday night, in solidarity with pro-gay group Laila Project, who canceled a concert scheduled for the same evening in an art festival north of the capital after being accused of insulting Christianity.

At the end of July, the Byblos International Festival Department announced that it had decided to cancel the "Laila Project" concert in order to "prevent bloodshed" after a violent debate that constituted a death threat.

The decision to cancel the concert was taken after Project Leila and the Byblos Festivals had conducted a violent campaign in the media and social media, particularly by the Maronite Church, as a result of Charges of insulting Christian deities in earlier songs and online publications.

The cancellation of the Lebanese group's concert provoked negative reactions from parties that expressed concern over the continuing restriction of liberties in Lebanon.

In solidarity with the group, whose leader Hamid Sinno opposes him, more than 1,500 people gathered Friday night in Beirut for an alternative concert entitled "The Sound of Music Loud".

Although the Laila project did not participate in the ceremony, one of the organizers read to the public a statement from the group saying that instead of celebrating its 10th birthday, the main theme was "our freedom to say what we think. "

In its statement, the group called for "a future that offers us at least fundamental freedoms, a future in which censorship and self-censorship prevent us from expressing ourselves".

Many of the audience seemed to come out and express their position on the issue.

Abdel Halim Jabr, 57, professor of architecture at the American University of Beirut, where members of the Leila project studied, said that this organization supported the "battle for freedoms".

"If we lose it, what will remain in this country?", He said, referring in particular to the difficult economic situation and the risks to the environment.

Behind the scenes, the artist Ziad Sahab said that he had participated in the protest ceremony "against the religious authorities that interfere with our choice of musicians".

"I'm not going to the mbades to impose on them what they say."

The cancellation of the Lebanese group's concert provoked negative reactions from parties that expressed concern over the continuing restriction of liberties in Lebanon. This was particularly evident in a petition titled "Freedom of expression: do not give in to violence", signed by more than 200 of the biggest names in the fields of art, culture, media and even clergy in Lebanon.

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