Camille Dory Shamoun, leader of the National Liberal Party (NLP) and grandson of former president Camille Chamoun, on the set of Sar el Wa'et on Oct. 16, 2025. (Screenshot)
Tensions flared Thursday night in the MTV studios, during the show Sar el Wa'et hosted by star presenter Marcel Ghanem, when a man in the audience proposed renaming the Camille Shamoun Sports City after the late Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024. This remark was made while the show's guest was Camille Dory Shamoun, grandson of the former president of the republic, sparking the anger of Shamoun supporters present in the room.
Shouting and insults broke out, with one man almost coming to blows with the author of the controversial proposal. Someone in the audience allegedly made an insulting gesture that was not shown on camera, prompting the host to intervene and calm everyone down. The situation remained under control and security staff did not have to escort anyone out of the studio. "You can’t change the names of cities or universities. There’s a history in the country that we can’t change," said the presenter.
Inaugurated with great ceremony on Oct. 12, 1957, in the presence of Camille Shamoun, the Sports City, located in the southern suburbs of Beirut, has experienced ups and downs over the years. After a glorious start, the site was damaged during the civil war, then rebuilt in the 1990s, before again falling into decay with the economic crisis of 2019. Sports City hosted Nasrallah’s funeral in February 2025, as well as a Hezbollah scout gathering last weekend.
“President Camille Chamoun brought all Lebanese together. When he built Sports City, it was to promote sports and culture, not as a venue to pay tribute to Iran,” said Camille Dory Chamoun, leader of the National Liberal Party (NLP). “What you said is shameful to the memory of the great leader who built Lebanon and made it the pearl of the Middle East, while the person you are talking about, whose name you want on Sports City, destroyed Lebanon,” he continued.
'A platform for dialogue'
Responding to the incident, one of the show's officials, who asked not to be named, said, “The words of the man present in the audience provoked the participants, but Ghanem calmed the situation.” “Our show is an open platform for dialogue, allowing all opinions to be expressed,” he said.
After the fall of the Syrian regime last December, and with Hezbollah weakened by the thirteen-month war it fought against the Israeli state, Lebanese authorities last August renamed Hafez al-Assad Avenue in Beirut after musician Ziad Rahbani, who died at the end of July. The former “Hafez al-Assad Avenue,” which crosses Mdeirej, Hammana, and Bzebdin in Upper Metn (Baabda), was renamed “Freedom Avenue” last December.
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