A festival of Bethlehem at Christmas is being celebrated at St James’s Piccadilly, London, from 23 December 2013 through to 5 January 2014, with people joining in on Facebook and Twitter from other parts of these islands… and the world.


A festival of Bethlehem at Christmas is being celebrated at St James’s Piccadilly, London, from 23 December 2013 through to 5 January 2014, with people joining in on Facebook and Twitter from other parts of these islands… and the world.

Through music, food, art, poetry, debate and more Bethlehem Unwrapped goes behind the romanticised Christmas card images of the ancient city to show what life is like for people in Bethlehem today.

The festival celebrates the culture and stories of those living behind the separation wall and their work for peace.

Hope, humour and humanity are reflected throughout the programme, which brings together renowned musician and composer Nigel Kennedy, chefs Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, singer Reem Kelani, comedians Mark Steel and Jeremy Hardy, activist and speaker Jeff Halper, actor Adjoa Andoh, film-maker Leila Sansour, video artist Larissa Sansour, writer and speaker Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, slam poets Harry Baker and Rafeef Ziadah. and more.

Join the launch at 6pm on 23 December for the unveiling of a major interactive art installation and find out about the rest of the exciting programme.

On Twitter or Facebook use the hashtag #AtTheWall.

All net proceeds of the Bethlehem Unwrapped festival will be donated to Amos Trust’s ‘Future Peacemakers’ Appeal, supporting the work of the Holy Land Trust, Bethlehem http://www.holylandtrust.org http://www.amostrust.org

* Bethlehem Unwrapped website: http://bethlehem-unwrapped.org

* Tickets here: http://bethlehem-unwrapped.org/?page_id=45

* Kairos Britain: http://www.kairosbritain.org.uk/peace.aspx

* Christmas on Ekklesia: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/christmas