Nowruz Festival in the Islamic Republic of Iran

On the occasion of the Iranian New Year (Nowruz) the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is organizing an international event to celebrate Nowruz in Tehran and the historical city of Shiraz on 30 and 31 March 2010.

 Heads of State and Governments of several countries as well as international dignitaries (President of the General Assembly, Director Generals of UNESCO, ECO and Arab League) are to be invited to attend the Festival.

 The March event is particularly important taking into account the imminent adoption of the United Nations General Assembly resolution entitled “the International Day of Nowruz”. The resolution which is jointly presented by Permanent Missions of I.R. Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Turkmenistan to the United Nations is recognizing Nowruz, for the first time in the UN history, as an international event and invites Member States and international organizations to promote values and culture of Nowruz.     

What gives further prominence to the March Festival is the inclusion of Nowruz into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in September 2009.