The recently released biopic El Sett, starring Mona Zaki and directed by Marwan Hamed, opens with one of the most extraordinary nights in Umm Kulthum’s career: her first - and only - performance outside the Arab world at Paris’s legendary Olympia Concert Hall on November 13th and 15th, 1967.

The show came in the wake of the 1967 War. Already Egypt’s most famous cultural ambassador after President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Umm Kulthum embarked on a tour to raise funds and international support for her country, with proceeds going directly toward re-arming the military and fighting for Sinai’s return.

In this CairoScene exclusive, we revisit the rich archives of the late photojournalist Farouk Ibrahim for a rare glimpse at Umm Kulthum’s Paris chapter: a packed press conference upon landing, ticket lines stretching around the block, the icon at the Eiffel Tower, and a mic test at Olympia. Ibrahim captured her legendary five-hour show from close quarters, having first met Umm Kulthum after 1967 and accompanying her on the fundraising tour.

Umm Kulthum was famously selective about photographers, allowing only one angle and only during concerts. After seeing one of Ibrahim’s Alexandria shots, she personally requested he work with her, creating a collaboration that documented some of the most intimate and electrifying moments of her career.
These rare images are shared exclusively with CairoScene by Karim Farouk Ibrahim, son and archive trustee, offering a window into a night when Umm Kulthum’s voice, presence, and mission resonated far beyond Egypt’s borders.