Egyptian pop star croons for potential visitors on Europe tour
Egypt’s Culture Ministry is promoting pop star Hakim’s European tour in the hope that he can interest Western tourists in Egyptian culture.
CAIRO — Paris’ Olympia Theater has hosted the world’s greatest and most famous artists, including Egyptian singers Umm Kulthum and Abdel Halim Hafez in the 1960s and the 1970s. Another star set to appear in this prestigious venue is Egyptian pop star Hakim, who will give a concert there on Sept. 24.
At a Sept. 9 press conference, Hakim said he was thrilled to receive an invitation from the Olympia Theater to perform there as part of his tour in several European cities, under the auspices of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority affiliated with the Ministry of Tourism.
Hakim kicked-started his European tour with a concert in Madrid on Sept. 15, followed by another performance on Sept. 16 in the French city of Lyon.
Many newspapers reported that both concerts sold out completely. However, Ashraf Wahid, a member of the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Tourism, told Al-Monitor, “These concerts will have little effect on the tourism sector in Egypt as Arab communities in Europe are unlikely to visit Egypt unless for major concerts featuring famous artists such as the Marina summer festivals in the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s.”
