Lahore's culture is unique. Known as the cultural capital or Heart of Pakistan, the city has been the seat of the Mughal Empire and the Sikh Empire as well as the capital of Punjab in Mahmud Ghaznavi's 11th century empire and in the British Empire.
Lahore played an important role in Pakistani history, as it was in this city where the independence declaration for Pakistan was made.
Lahore is an extremely festive city. This city is the most happening city of Pakistan. The people of Lahore celebrate many festivals and events throughout the year.
In Lahore is located the mausoleum of Ali Hujwire also known as also known as Data Ganj Bakhsh or Data Sahib and an annual Urs is held every year as a big festival.
Basant is a Punjabi festival marking the coming of spring. Basant celebrations in Pakistan are centered in Lahore, and people from all over the country as well as abroad come to the city for the annual festivities. Kite-flying competitions traditionally take place on city rooftops during Basant.
Lahore is known as the education capital of Pakistan, with more colleges and universities than any other city in the country. A true Science & Technology hub of Pakistan. The present Government of Punjab has allocated huge amount in 2009-2010 Budget for the establishment of knowledge city near Lahore, Government has also plan to transform Lahore into a High-tech City of Pakistan as well as an important hub of High-tech in the world. Pakistan’s largest producer of quality professionals in the field of Science & Technology as well as in High Tech such as IT, Engineering, Medical, Nuclear Sciences, Pharmaceutical, Telecommunication, Bio- Technology and Microelectronics etc
The National Horse and Cattle Show is one of the most famous annual festivals, held in spring in the Fortress Stadium. The week-long activities include a livestock display, horse and camel dances,tent pegging, colourful folk dances from all regions of Pakistan, mass-band displays, and tattoo shows in the evenings. On August 14, the people of Pakistan celebrate the day Pakistan gained its independence from the British Raj. There are lots of celebrations in Lahore, the streets are full of people singing and dancing. Parades of the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force are held early in the morning.
The World Performing Arts Festival is held every autumn (usually in November) at the Alhambra cultural complex, a large venue consisting of several theatres and amphitheatres. This ten-day festival consists of musicals, theatre, concerts, dance, solo, mime, and puppetry shows. The festival has an international character with nearly 80 percent of the shows performed by international performers. On average 15-20 different shows are performed every day of the festival
Lahoris are known for their love of food and eating. While Lahore has a great many traditional and modern restaurants, in recent years.
Recently the food streets in the historic locales of Lahore (Gawalmandi,Anarkali ) have attracted tourists. Food streets have undergone restorations and are cordoned off in the evenings for pedestrian traffic only; numerous cafés serve local delicacies under the lights and balconies of restored havelis.
Gaddafi Stadium is a Cricket ground in Lahore.it was completed in 1959 and is one of the biggest cricket stadiums in Asia. After its renovation for the 1996 Cricket World Cup, the stadium now boasts a capacity of over 60,000. Nearby is an athletics stadium, a basketball pitch, the Al Hamra, open-air hall similar in design to the coliseum, and the world's largest field hockey stadium, Another Cricket Ground and Headquarters of Pakistan Cricket Board, all based in the city's Sports complex. In the same vicinity lie headquarters of the Pakistan Football Federation, as well as the multi-sport Punjab stadium.
Lahore is the core of Pakistan's media and Arts scene. Pakistan's most prestigious Art college,National College of Arts, is located here. Every year, it hosts the 'World performing Arts festival' in which artists from dozens of countries show off their talents'. This festival is managed by the Peerzada group, which is also the largest puppetry theater company in the Pakistan. Lahore is also home to the country's developing fashion industry supported by numerous designer outlets and the country's most prestigious Fashion school, the Pakistan School of Fashion and Design which has some of the best photo studios and photographers in the country.
Lahore has also been home to Pakistan's old classical music, ghazals and Qawalis, with big names such as Noor jehan, arif lohar, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mehdi hassan, Ghulam Ali etc all residing in the city. In recent years Lahore has given out Pakistan's largest pop singer such as Atif Aslam and Ali Zafar, while the city is recognized as the birthplace of modern rock scene in south Asia by bands such as Jal, Call the band, Roxen, Noori and Entityparadigm, which were hugely popular and lead many in the Indian film industry to import their songs.
Pakistan's film industry is also based in the city and is called Lollywood. Many films are filmed in Lahore and the city has some of the oldest film studios in the country. Many actors and directors are based in Lahore which brings many artists together to launch films. Cinema is on the incline again in recent years and IMAX is also building outlets in the city.
Several FM radio stations have set up their operations here and some TV channels also work from this city.
