Lebanese pop star Elissa brings hope to Baghdad with stunning concert

Elissa’s show on Friday was her second in Iraq this year

Lebanese singer Elissa performs on the stage during the 14th edition of the Mawazine International music festival in Rabat, Morocco. Getty

Elissa performing in Dubai Shopping Festival Nights at Dubai Media City Ampitheatre. Photo: Reem Mohammed / The National

Elissa performing in Dubai Shopping Festival Nights at Dubai Media City Ampitheatre. Reem Mohammed / The National

Elissa performs during a concert at the seaside waterfront of Beirut, Lebanon, 26 July 2019. EPA

Elissa, Lebanese singer and judge on the X Factor, performing at the Mawazine Festival in Morocco, June 2015. Photo: Mawazine Festival

Elissa, Lebanese singer and judge on the X Factor, performing at the Mawazine Festival in Morocco, June 2015. Photo: Mawazine Festival

Elissa, Lebanese singer and judge on the X Factor, performing at the Mawazine Festival in Morocco, June 2015. Photo: Mawazine Festival

Elissa, Lebanese singer and judge on the X Factor, performing at the Mawazine Festival in Morocco, June 2015. Photo: Mawazine Festival

Lebanese singer Elissa entertained Iraqis on Friday with her first appearance in Baghdad, bringing joy to a city that has suffered from decades of war and social unrest.

Dressed in an elegant floral dress, Elissa performed some of her own songs, as well as covers of songs such as Akheern Qalaha by Iraqi performer Ahmed Al Maslawi.

In a video posted on Twitter by a fan, Elissa can be seen dancing and subtly swaying during her performance of Badi Doob.

The concert was held on a stage at Sindbad Land, a theme park in the Zayouna district of the city.

“Iraq, and specifically Baghdad, needs peace or even a little peace to be vibrant again,” Mustafa Samir, who attended the concert with his friends, told The National.

“The Iraqi people needed positive energy a long time ago and Elissa has become the first one who's spread peace with her warm and tender voice."

Shortly after arriving in Baghdad on Thursday, Elissa posted a video on Instagram that showed her being escorted off the tarmac at Baghdad airport, where she was presented with a bouquet.

Lebanese singer Elissa poses for a picture late 30 October 2000 at a nightclub in Beirut. Elissa, whose real name is Elissar Khoury, started her career as an actress with the "les diseurs" theatre troupe, before she had launched a videoclip for her song 'Baddi Doub' in 1999, which was a great success. AFP

Lebanese singer Elissa performs during her show in the World Trade Center at the Dubai Shopping Festival 17 March 2001. AFP

Lebanese singer Elissa performs in Dubai 12 November 2001. The singer often visits the UAE, and this time presented a show with Lebanese singers Yuri Murrakadi, Aline Khalaf, Maysam Nahas and Algerian singer Cheb Mami. AFP

Lebanese singer Elissa poses in Dubai 10 September 2002: this was the year her third studio album was released. AFP PHOTO/Eddy PADO (Photo by EDDY PADO / AFP)

Lebanese singer Elissa shows her new album 'Ahla Dunia' during a launch event in Beirut 30 May 2004. AFP

She won the World Music Award as the best Arab singer and the best-selling artist in the Middle East and North Africa for her album "Ahla Dunia" in 2005. Elissa received her award on August 31 at the 2005 World Music Awards show held at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. AFP

Performing in Oman at the Muscat Festival on 04 February, 2005. AFP

Lebanese singer Elissa attends a fashion show by Lebanese designer Oussama Haddad late 09 February 2006 during the "Le Salon du Mariage" wedding exhibition in Beirut. In 2006 she released her fifth studio album, and won her second World Music Award.

Lebanese singer Elissa performs during the television talent show "Mission: Fashion" at the studios of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) in Adma, north of Beirut, late on December 12, 2008. In 2007, she released mega hit 'Betmoun'. AFP

At the 2013 Murex D'or Festival taking at the Casino Du Liban, north of the capital Beirut: in December, 2012, she was chosen as a judge for 'The X Factor Arabia', which premiered in early 2013. AFP

Lebanese singer Elissa performs during a concert at the seaside waterfront of Beirut, Lebanon, 26 July 2019, during the Beirut Holidays 2019 festival. In August of 2019 she tweeted that she is quitting the music industry. EPA

Lebanese singer Elissa at her press conference at Mawazine Festival on June 24, in Rabat, Morocco this year. Courtesy Mawazine Festival

“My heart is happy. I feel home,” the accompanying caption said.

Tickets cost from $50 to $200, prices that many Iraqis could afford. A few days before the concert, Sindbad Land announced on Facebook that all VIP tickets were sold out.

The Arabic hashtag #ElissainBaghdad was trending on Twitter throughout the weekend.

Much of her appeal lies in her openness with fans – one reason why she was named as the leading Arab personality on Twitter in 2020 by US social media intelligence company Brandwatch found.

She encourages fans to post images and footage from her shows, which she often retweets in the days after a performance.

At one moment during her performance in Baghdad, she knelt to hug and kiss a girl who approached her with a flower.

In another, she asked the cheerful audience: “Shako mako?" – Iraqi slang for “what’s up?”

In a video shared by a fan on Twitter, a group of fans shouts: “Elissa, we love you!" She turns and says: “Love you all”, before making the shape of a heart with her fingers.

Since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Baghdad has been synonymous with insecurity, devastation and chaos.

Many artists have refused to perform in Baghdad and instead choose the more stable Kurdish region.

But the authorities and private sector have carried out initiatives to restore some normality in recent years by hosting cultural activities and inviting foreign celebrities.

“We were dreaming of having Elissa among us in Baghdad,” Mr Samir said. “She made our dreams come true."

He hopes she has “broken the fear barrier” among singers that will encourage others to perform in the Iraqi capital.

Elissa’s show was her second in Iraq this year.

In June, she performed in Erbil, capital of the northern autonomous Kurdish region, for the second time since 2010.

Her next concert is scheduled for the Olympia theatre in Paris on Friday, November 5.