TEHRAN -- A bust of the Iranian poet and mathematician Omar Khayyam is scheduled to be unveiled at the Complutense University of Madrid during a ceremony on May 18, which is annually celebrated in Iran as Khayyam Day.

A number of Iranian and Spanish cultural figures have been invited to participate in the ceremony, the Iranian cultural attaché’s office in Spain announced in press release on Wednesday.
The decision to install the bust at the university was made in a discussion between the Iranian cultural attaché Amir Purpezeshk and Complutense Vice-Chancellor for Culture and Sports Juan Manuel Álvarez on April 5.
“As an art expert, I say that the bust is a striking work, which shows perfectly the face of an Iranian luminary, Álvarez said.
He also expressed hope that the installation of the bust will help the expansion of long-term cultural cooperation.
Purpezeshk said that his office is ready to prepare the usual preliminaries for cultural cooperation.
No details were given about the bust and its creator.
Sculpting the bust is cosponsored by Iran’s Art Bureau and the Islamic Relations and Cultural Organization.