Egypt: Umm Kulthum hologram concert to be staged in Dubai

The concerts are part of the Eid in Dubai Celebration event organised by broadcasting company MBC Group and the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE).

DFRE said the shows would reunite audiences with Kulthum more than four decades after her death, using state-of-the-art holographic technology to create a live theatrical concert.

Entertainment tech company New Dimension Productions (NDP) is producing the event. It will feature a 3D image of Kulthum performing some of her songs including 'Enta Omri', 'Al-Atlal' and 'El-Hobb Kolloh' as well as a brand new song produced especially for Eid called 'Al Atlal'.

"The preparation of the Umm Kulthum material required long hours during which a team of 18 experts worked to develop the hologram and visual effects, in collaboration with a team of 30 technicians who set up the hologram equipment onsite," NDP managing director Hasan Hina said.

"In recognition of her unique position in the culture and heritage of the MENA region, we are pleased to collaborate with the DFRE and the MBC Group to give the diva's fans a truly exceptional experience and the opportunity to attend one of her concerts and relive the feeling."

In Egypt, a concert will be staged at the El Sawy puppet theatre in the El Sawy Cultural Wheel cultural centre on 6 August. The event, titled Umm Kulthum is Back Again, will feature the puppets of Kulthum and a full troupe performing some of her songs.

Nicknamed 'Egypt's Fourth Pyramid', Kulthum is considered the most celebrated Arab singer of the 20th century. She composed a series of songs that fuelled nationalism and pan-Arab sentiment, and rejected gender norms with her powerful, political music.

The classical singer was awarded the Order of the Virtues (Nishan el-Kamal) in 1944 by King Farouk, the 10th ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty. However, after Egypt's 1952 revolution, the new military leaders attempted to prevent her from singing because of the award, but the then president Gamal Abdel Nasser intervened.

She was born in 1898 and performed until about 1970. She died in February 1975 of kidney failure. Her funeral procession reportedly attracted 4 million Egyptians.

In March, NDP and MBC Group had planned her memorial hologram tour to travel to Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia and Morocco but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For information on ticketing, click here.