TEHRAN – A car show at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall has sparked a storm among cultural figures who claim that holding such events will ruin the reputation of the capital’s most prestigious cultural venue.

On Sunday evening, the hall played host to the French car manufacturer Renault for the unveiling of its new Talisman model.

In addition, the Tehran Symphony Orchestra gave a performance in honor of the company.

Speaking to the Persian service of ILNA on Monday, Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti, a member of the Supreme Council for the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, said, “Each event should be organized in a venue apt for it.”

“Thus, as a venue for cultural events, is Vahdat Hall an appropriate place for launching a car?” he asked and added that the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance should answer the question.

Ramin Seddiqi, the director of Hermes Records, a Tehran-based recording label, said that at present, he does not plan to attend any program scheduled to be organized at the hall in protest of the move.

In a published statement, Ali-Akbar Safipur, the director of the Farabi Foundation, which supervises Vahdat Hall, said that the foundation made the decision to rent the hall for the car launching event to cover part of the expenses at the hall.

Vahdat Hall, which was inaugurated in October 1967, was built by Iranian-Armenian architect Eugene Aftandilian based on a design closely resembling the Vienna State Opera.

Photo: Workers are seen beside a Talisman from the French car manufacturer Renault launched at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on September 25, 2016.

MMS/YAW