The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Egypt is talking music these days, and we can’t seem to keep up with all the events taking place around the capital; from Red Hot Chili Peppers, to James Arthur performing alongside Amr Diab, and French Montana bringing his rap music to the land of the Pharaohs, it seems that Egypt – and specifically Cairo– is on the way to finding its well-deserved place on the world’s musical and cultural map.

In an amazing feat of technology, the music of the one and only Abdel Halim Hafez will be brought back to our souls, while singing alongside our favourite Lebanese pop star, Carole Samaha, at Manara Hall in New Cairo on Friday, April 19th. Carole Samaha will duet with the Egyptian legend who will be performing in holographic form. This concert is the first of its kind; indeed, for the very first time in the MENA region, a living singer will perform a live duet with a hologram! The famous chief conductor, George Kalta will be in charge of the live orchestra of almost 45 musicians, and he confirmed that 17 songs will be performed, with an extra, surprise song by Hafez.

The concert titled “HELM”, meaning “dream”, will be a life experience that will take you on a musical journey. Samaha was smart when she chose which songs to sing with Halim Hafez, she stated that all the songs they will sing together will be songs Abdel Halim hasn’t sung before. In other words, while Halim has dueted with the likes of late actress and songstress Shadia, Smaha will not be performing songs which were originally produced as a duet. How they’ll achieve this, we can’t wait to see.

Samaha has been an integral part of Egyptian culture for quite some time, and not just due to her songs being sung in the Egyptian dialect; indeed, Samaha has received an Egyptian passport through her husband, making her officially Egyptian. Samaha also stated in an interview that her young daughter is addicted to Umm Khalthom, despite her very young age. So we can safely say that Samaha has definitely got the Egyptian spirit, and will surely do right when it comes to paying homage to Hafez’s legacy and music.

We can’t wait for this special event to bring those nostalgic feelings that we all sometimes crave!

P.S. You can purchase your tickets at Virgin Megastore!