Dubai, UAE — Sept. 2026 — Syrian singer Assala Nasri performed in Damascus on Thursday for the first time in roughly 16 years, a homecoming concert that drew thousands to Al-Fayhaa Sports Hall and was streamed live to millions more across the region.
Titled “The Return of Assala,” the show was backed by Syria’s Ministry of Culture and the Syrian Artists Syndicate, and formed part of the “Summer of Syria 2026” festival. It was among the most prominent cultural events since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
Assala arrived in Damascus with her family earlier in the week and opened the concert with songs dedicated to the Syrian people, telling the crowd she had missed them and had long dreamed of the moment. She performed a mix of career-spanning hits alongside material from her new Syrian Album, a 14-song project drawing on the musical traditions of Syria’s provinces.
Assala was among the first well-known Syrian artists to back the anti-Assad protests in 2011, a stance that led to her expulsion from the Syrian Artists’ Union and years spent performing from exile.
For many in attendance, the concert functioned less as a routine performance than as a public marker of change — a shared experience broadcast widely enough that Syrians who couldn’t be in the hall could still watch it unfold in real time.
