Egypt’s Giza Pyramids Host Fan-less Eid Concerts

Tamer Hosni performs at a concert at the Giza Pyramids, Egypt.
Tamer Hosni performs at a concert at the Giza Pyramids, Egypt.
TT

Egypt’s Giza Pyramids Host Fan-less Eid Concerts

Tamer Hosni performs at a concert at the Giza Pyramids, Egypt.
Tamer Hosni performs at a concert at the Giza Pyramids, Egypt.

Egypt’s United Company for Media Services organized a number of fan-less concerts during Eid al-Fitr near the Giza Pyramids to help mitigate the effects of the lockdown imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Famous Egyptian stars, such as Angham, Tamer Hosni, Hamid el-Shaery, Hisham Abbas, Medhat Saleh, Alaa Abdel-Khaleq and Hanan recorded their concerts during the holy month of Ramadan at the Sound and Light Theater at the Great Pyramids of Giza and al-Azhar Park.

Egyptian artist Hisham Abbas told Asharq Al-Awsat that when the Company first approached him with the idea, he instantly agreed and did not hesitate in participating.

“We are all living in exceptional days because of the pandemic and we must all stand together to overcome them. My role as an artist is to bring joy to the people,” he said.

He explained that filming the concerts was carried out amid strict precautions where everyone adhered to the measures by wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

The artist pointed out that during rehearsals before the actual filming, he used the least possible number of musicians to avoid crowding on the stage.

Since “Sham Ennessim” festival, various artists in Egypt have been holding concerts without an audience.

Maestro Hani Farhat, who leads Angham’s music band, revealed that the singer has a large number of surprises for her Egyptian and Arab fans.

Speaking to Asharq al-Awsat, Farhat said that Angham performed a number of her famous songs, including: “Yaretak Fahemni” and “Akteblak Taahod”, and a number of songs from her latest album “Hala Khasa Gedan”. Fans on social media requested a number of songs which she included in her setlist.

The Eid concerts began with a performance by Tamer Hosni who sang 12 of his most famous songs. He surprised his fans with a new music video, “Wa enta Maayia”, which was postponed for two years for remixing after it was recorded with Algerian artist Cheb Khaled.



Shrouded in Smog, Delhi Pollution Reading Is the Highest This Year

Thick smog engulfs the Kartavya Path near India Gate in New Delhi on November 18, 2024. (AFP)
Thick smog engulfs the Kartavya Path near India Gate in New Delhi on November 18, 2024. (AFP)
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Shrouded in Smog, Delhi Pollution Reading Is the Highest This Year

Thick smog engulfs the Kartavya Path near India Gate in New Delhi on November 18, 2024. (AFP)
Thick smog engulfs the Kartavya Path near India Gate in New Delhi on November 18, 2024. (AFP)

A thick blanket of toxic smog engulfed most parts of northern India on Monday and readings of air quality in the capital New Delhi hit their highest this year after dense fog overnight.

The smog, a toxic blend of smoke and fog, happens each year in winter as cold air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from illegal farm fires in some surrounding states.

Visibility dropped to 100 m (109 yards) in Delhi and Chandigarh, a city northwest of the capital, but authorities said flights and trains continued to operate with some delays.

India's pollution control authority said the national capital territory's 24-hour air quality index (AQI) reading was at 484, classified as "severe plus", the highest this year.

According to Swiss group IQAir's live rankings, New Delhi was the most polluted city in the world with the air quality at a "hazardous" 1,081 and the concentration of PM2.5 - particulate matter measuring 2.5 microns or less in diameter that can be carried into lungs, causing deadly diseases and cardiac issues - was 130.9 times the World Health Organisation's recommended levels.

Experts say the scores vary because of a difference in the scale countries adopt to convert pollutant concentrations into AQI, and so the same quantity of a specific pollutant may be translated as different AQI scores in different countries.

Delhi authorities directed all schools to move classes online and tightened restrictions on construction activities and vehicle movements, citing unfavourable meteorological conditions and low wind speed.

Farm fires - where stubble left after harvesting rice is burnt to clear fields - have contributed as much as 40% of the pollution in Delhi, SAFAR, a weather forecasting agency under the ministry of earth sciences has said.

Satellites detected 1,334 such events in six states on Sunday, the most in the last four days, according to India's Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space.

Despite the polluted air, many residents continued their daily routines. Many buildings were barely visible, including Delhi's iconic India Gate.

"Morning walk usually feels good, but now the air is polluted and we're forced to wear a mask... There is a burning sensation in the eyes and slight difficulty in breathing," Akshay Pathak, a resident of the city told the ANI news agency, in which Reuters has a minority stake.

India's weather department has forecast "dense to very dense fog" for the northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan for Monday.