Sorry Myriam Fares, but These 11 Artists Charge Egypt More Than You

Lebanese songstress, Myriam Fares, faced the wrath of Egypt’s social media yesterday after her statement at Mawazin Festival. After being asked about why she doesn’t perform in Egypt as much as she used to, the artist said that after the revolution her career blossomed and she became too expensive for Egypt.

It goes without saying that the reply did not sit well with Egyptians. Celebrities ranted and producers said the main reason she’s been missing from Egypt’s music scene is thanks to her lack of popularity, and fans turned her “Te’ila” (Arabic for “heavy”) quote into memes. Fares released an official apology, explaining that she was misunderstood and that Egypt is her second country, but the damage was already done.

The country is still going through an economic crisis and everyone is suffering financially, but when it comes to entertainment – which we consider a major part of our tourism industry – we don’t mess around. This year, Egypt has hosted a list of impressive international and regional artists who are surprisingly more expensive than Fares. According to Filfan, Myriam Fares used to charge $25,000 before the revolution, then she raised her fees to $45,000.

Sorry Fares, but here is a list of 11 artists who are most probably more expensive than you and still perform in Egypt:

Just a wild guess but there is no way the next three international stars set to perform here charge less than $50,000 per performance. According to Elle in 2016, Jennifer Lopez charges a minimum of $1m. As for Solomun, our sources tell us that the DJ charges €80,000 just for a two-hour-long set.

Jennifer Lopez

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Solomun

Egyptian Lyricist, Amir Teima, took to social media after Fares’ controversial sentiment and explained that Yanni’s concerts at the Giza Pyramids cost over a $1m.

Yanni

We’ve all heard how much Amr Diab and Mohamed Mounir charge for weddings. Event organizer and producer, Waleed Mansour, described Fares’ fees as less than what Diab’s speakers cost to rent.

Amr Diab

Mohamed Mounir

According to FilFan, Wael Kaffoury, Ragheb Allama, and Elissa charge $65,000, while Nancy Ajram charges $60,000. Yet, ElWatan News reported that Elissa charges anywhere between $70,000 to $80,000. Eitherway, she’s still way more expensive than Fares.

Wael Kaffoury

Ragheb Alama

Elissa

Nancy Ajram

Two years ago, Tunisia made headlines after Lebanese icon, Majida El Roumin, charged EGP 3.5m for an appearance at the International Festival of Carthage, and the star still performs in Egypt.