A festival celebrating Israeli culture will be held in London from Sept. 8 to 11, showcasing a line of Israeli artists at several different venues to acquaint the British with Israeli culture. The weekend-long, "TLV in LDN" festival will include artists Dana International, Marina Maximilian, Nasreen Qadri, Ester Rada and Mira Awad, electronic group Infected Mushroom, Yemenite girl group A-WA, dance and percussion troupe Mayumana and trumpeter Avishai Cohen. In addition, Israeli chef Shaul Ben Aderet will participate in the festival as well by exposing the British to the unique tastes of the Israeli kitchen. The events are scheduled to take place at the Roundhouse in Camden, in Cadogan Hall and in the Coronet Theater. The festival was organized by the Strategic Affairs Ministry under Minister Gilad Erdan, the Jewish community in London and British businessman Marc Worth, along with the support of the Israeli Embassy in the U.K. and Ambassador Mark Regev. Government employees, business people and cultural figures will be among the 20,000 people expected to attend the various shows and events. The festival will include an Israeli food market, a dance party featuring Dana International alongside Israeli and British DJs, a drumming workshops with Mayumana members, a fashion show by Israeli brand Maskit, contemporary Israeli art exhibits and more. "This is the biggest Israeli festival to be held in one of the most important cultural capitals" in the world, Erdan said. "In recent years, there have been calls for a cultural boycott of Israel, and our message is that it's culture's job to build bridges and create dialogue." Qadri, a female Arab-Israeli singer, said that "for me, the opportunity to play in the festival is an opportunity to familiarize England with Israeli music. In honor of the festival, I prepared a surprise: My version of a Beyonce hit!"
