Eight years after bombing, Somalia reopens national theatre

Workers clean seats inside a renovated Somalia's National Theatre in Mogadishu, Somalia June 24, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Eight years after a suicide bomber destroyed the building, Somalia has reopened its imposing national theatre in Mogadishu as a symbol of culture in the heart of a city often defined by violence.

The theatre, whose stage is underpinned by bright yellow pillars and is decorated in the light blue of the national flag, was opened in 1967 and closed in 1991 as the Horn of Africa country plunged into civil war.