International Day of Yoga
Yoga has gained popularity in Egypt with more than 50 schools of Yoga in Cairo, besides centers in other cities. For the eighth consecutive year, the International Day of Yoga (IDY) was celebrated on 21 June 2022 with main event organized on 21 June 2022 at Al Azhar Park, Cairo. Al Azhar Park is one of the most prominent parks in Egypt built and managed by Aga Khan Cultural Services. A live feed of the programme was provided to Doordarshan as part of the ‘Guardian Ring’ initiative.
2. More than 500 people from different walks of life and age groups, members of Diplomatic Corps participated in the Yoga Day celebration. Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr. Ashraf Sobhy, attended the event as the Chief Guest. In his address, the Minister stressed on deep-rooted relations between Egypt and India in various fields and expressed his desire to further promote bilateral relations in the field of youth affairs and sports. He strongly recommended the practice of Yoga and praised it as a “heritage of India”.
3. Amongst the celebrities, the most prominent was Egyptian actress Lekaa El-khamissi. In her brief speech, she spoke of the benefits of Yoga and how it had helped her in her difficult times. She stated that she was pleased to be an “Ambassador of Yoga” in Egypt.
4. Prior to International Day of Yoga several curtain raiser events were organized at iconic places such as Alexandria Bibliotheca (Alexandria Library), Sharm El-Sheikh Museum, Sharm El-Sheikh, Konark Temple, Luxor and Hurghada, Red Sea etc. These Yoga events were aimed to increase the awareness about Yoga in different parts of Egypt and at the same time to popularize the Egyptian iconic tourism places in India. Several Yoga workshops were also organized at various schools, malls, libraries, clubs etc prior to the main event.
