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The Mood Today In Tahrir Square: 'Jubilant'

By Mark Memmott
Published February 9, 2011 at 12:20 PM MST
Egyptian anti-government demonstrators held a huge national flag as they gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday (Feb. 9, 2011).
Mohammed Abed
/
AFP/Getty Images
Egyptian anti-government demonstrators held a huge national flag as they gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday (Feb. 9, 2011).

There's "an almost carnival-like atmosphere" in Cairo's Tahrir Square today, our colleague JJ Sutherland says in an audio report he filed for NPR's newscast.

It's Day 16 of the anti-government protests, and just one week since deadly clashes broke out in the square when "pro-Mubarak" Egyptians attacked the "anti-Mubarak" protesters.

But today, JJ says, "there are people who are listening to music, there are people who are chanting, there are people who are selling popcorn, toys ... the atmosphere is jubilant."

Here is JJ's audio. You can hear some of the crowd in the background:

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Mark Memmott
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
See stories by Mark Memmott