The Alhambra, world poem

Next Sunday, 3 July, the Alhambra will host a new edition of El Mundo, un Poema Gigante, a touring project which so far has reached 30 cities in over a dozen countries. This street performance consists of a collectively-written poem, over 100 metres in length, in which each person follows on from the verses of the previous person in an activity that takes place throughout the day.
The Granada poem will be the longest of all the poems written in Spain. There will also be experts on hand to translate verses from over 20 different languages into Spanish, and where Arabic is expected to play a particularly important role. The creator of this urban installation, writer and social innovator Ángel Arenas, chose Granada, and specifically its best-known landmark, the Alhambra, as its backdrop.
The first lines will be written by Federico Mayor Zaragoza, former rector of the University of Granada and General Secretary of the UNESCO, an enthusiastic supporter of the project through Fundación Cultura de Paz, which he chairs. Many other personalities from cultural, social and academic life are also expected to participate.
La Alhambra, un poema gigante completes a full cycle in the development of the project. The best verses from 30 cities will be chosen and published in a book which aims to transmit the poetic and vital experience of the world as set down by 50,000 participants in over 4000 metres of verse.
Support for the initiative comes from the Andalusian UNESCO Centre, the Government of Andalusia, Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife (PAG), University of Granada, Granada Town Council, Fundación Cultura y Paz, Fundación Euroárabe and the Spanish Association for Social Innovation.