City Theater Festival returns after eight-year hiatus
Tehran's long-paused City Theater Festival will return this year after an eight-year break, the city’s top cultural official said June 1, marking a renewed push to spotlight the capital’s layered identity.
Mehrdad Bagheri, head of Tehran’s Cultural and Artistic Organization, confirmed the seventh City Theater Festival will be held in 2025. The last edition ran in the early 2010s before falling silent, IRNA reported.
“We’re coming back with a fresh approach,” Bagheri said, pointing to changes in both execution and themes. This year's edition will focus on “the many layers of Tehran,” from the city’s storied past to its evolving future.
The event aims to “build social cohesion” and rekindle a sense of belonging, especially among the younger generation. Organizers also hope to highlight old Tehran traditions like Pahlevani (heroism), chivalry, faith, and community spirit. Between 2010 and 2016, the festival ran six successful editions and helped launch a “new wave” of young, creative performers into the national spotlight, Bagheri noted.
A policy committee meeting is scheduled soon to finalize the framework.