Yehia El Fakharany Receives Farouk Hosny Grand Merit Award

Veteran Egyptian actor Yehia El Fakharany will receive the Grand Merit Award for 2026 from the Farouk Hosny Foundation for Culture and Arts, with the honour set to be presented on February 9th, 2026 at the Gezira Centre for the Arts.

The award will be presented as part of the foundation’s annual youth arts awards, held under the patronage of Egypt’s Ministry of Culture. The decision was taken by the foundation’s Board of Trustees, which selects one leading cultural figure each year to receive the Grand Merit Award in recognition of a distinguished body of work.

While the remaining awards are granted to young artists for specific works across various disciplines, the Grand Merit Award is reserved for figures whose long-term contributions have had a lasting impact on Egyptian cultural life.

The seventh edition of the Farouk Hosny Foundation arts awards will also take place at the Gezira Centre for the Arts. According to the foundation, the 2026 cycle received 2,354 submissions, including artworks, architectural projects and critical research papers, from 1,211 artists, architects and art critics representing governorates across Egypt.

The total value of the prizes awarded this year, including the Grand Merit Award, amounts to EGP 1 million.