Zamna Egypt is heading back to the South Sinai desert, and the second edition arrives with a noticeably bigger footprint. The festival returns to Khoroum Valley from 20 to 22 November 2026, stretching to three nights and expanding capacity to 20,000, with Sasha & John Digweed leading the first wave of artists confirmed so far.
Zamna Egypt Doubles Down After a One Year Trial
The debut edition landed in November 2025 across two nights and functioned largely as a proof of concept: could a festival brand built in the Mexican jungle translate to a sandstone valley in the Sinai mountains? The answer, judging by what the organisers are now committing to, was yes. The 2026 return adds a third night, grows the site and promises a heavier production spend.
Amr Ismail of Khoroum Valley framed the expansion in a statement to Festival Insights: “From the beginning, we knew Khoroum Valley was a special place for Zamna. Last year’s debut proved just how powerful that combination could be. For 2026, we’re raising the bar again with more artists, more production and an even more immersive experience.”
Sasha & John Digweed Headline the Phase 01 Lineup
Six acts are confirmed in the opening announcement, listed alphabetically: Korolova, Mëstiza, Mind Against, MRAK, Sasha & John Digweed and SHIMZA. Organisers expect upwards of 15 artists across the weekend once the remaining phases land.
The headline booking carries real weight. Sasha and John Digweed spent the 1990s defining progressive house as a pair, and their joint appearances have become scarce enough that each one registers as an event in itself. Putting them on a desert stage at sunrise is the kind of programming decision that gives a young festival an identity rather than just a lineup.
Mind Against, MRAK and Mëstiza all return from the 2025 bill, which suggests the promoters are building continuity rather than starting from scratch each year. Korolova and SHIMZA are the newcomers, and both bring a broad international following that should help the festival reach beyond the regional audience it drew in year one.
Why Khoroum Valley Is the Draw
The venue is doing a lot of the work here. Khoroum Valley is a natural sandstone amphitheatre set inside the South Sinai mountain range, with rock walls that ring the site and effectively become part of the production design. Nothing about it is generic, which is increasingly rare in a festival market where a lot of sites are interchangeable fields.
Logistics are unusually simple for a desert event. The valley sits roughly 15 minutes from central Sharm El Sheikh and from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, which takes direct flights from London, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt, Cairo and Dubai. A continuous shuttle runs from partner hotels to the gate. Entry is restricted to guests aged 18 and over, and the site operates under a strict leave no trace policy given the fragility of the surrounding landscape.
What It Says About Zamna’s Global Map
Zamna began as a jungle party outside Tulum and has spent the past few years planting flags well beyond Mexico, with editions and takeovers in Dubai, Mexico City, Santiago and India, as covered in our look at Zamna’s journey from the jungle to the desert. Egypt was its first move into Africa, and committing to a larger second edition there says the brand sees the region as more than a one off experiment.
It also lands at a moment when festival brands are competing on setting as much as on booking power. A 20,000 capacity site inside a Sinai valley is a harder thing to copy than a stacked bill, and it is the sort of proposition that travels well on social feeds without needing a single headline name. Compare that with the more conventional lineup arms race playing out elsewhere, from Do LaB’s 2026 Coachella stage onwards.
With more than three months to run and several lineup phases still to come, Zamna Egypt is shaping up as one of the more distinctive dates on the late 2026 calendar. Full details are on the Khoroum Valley site.
Featured image: Zamna at Khoroum Valley, via Khoroum Valley / Zamna Festival.