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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 December 1999 Issue No. 459 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 December 1999 Issue No. 459
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Debate Features Profile Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Parliament debates millennium-eve party
By Gamal Essam El-DinCulture Minister Farouk Hosni was up in arms in parliament this week, defending the ministry's plans to stage an extravaganza marking the advent of the next millennium. Hosni used Monday's meeting of the culture and information committee of the People's Assembly as a forum to demonstrate that the upcoming celebration is primarily aimed at "serving the interests of this country and promoting its image worldwide". The meeting was held at the request of Mohamed Abul-Enein, an appointed MP and a prominent businessman.
"The celebration is very important and is a major responsibility," Hosni said. "We should have been put on trial, had we failed to organise it."
Abul-Enein, however, noted that the planned celebration has come under fire from several writers and journalists. "This is why the culture minister is now required to respond to all the questions and objections that have been made," he said.
Reviewing these objections, Abul-Enein said it has been claimed that the celebration could be seriously detrimental to the pyramids plateau and Khufu's pyramid in particular. "History will never forgive you if the celebration proved to have this detrimental effect," Abul-Enein told Hosni.
Abul-Enein also questioned the idea of installing a small golden "pyramidion" on top of Khufu's pyramid. "How did the idea of this golden pyramidion originate with Culture Ministry officials? And did the Pharaohs do this in the past?" Abul-Enein asked.
Finally, Abul-Enein raised another sensitive issue. "The celebration will be organised during the holy month of Ramadan. As it is generally known, Ramadan is marked by special, deep-rooted religious traditions. Now, the question is: Does the programme of the celebration violate any of these traditions?" In conclusion, Abul-Enein asked Hosni to provide a clear statement about the cultural value and economic return of the celebration.
Hosni responded that by projecting Egypt's image worldwide, the celebration has a primarily political objective. "It mainly aims at attracting people to visit Egypt for tourism. This will be achieved by airing the celebration on satellite television to more than 2.5 billion viewers worldwide," Hosni said. He added that after several studies were made, plans for the celebration got the green light from a number of ministerial committees.
"The precise cost of this celebration will be $9.5 million. The celebration area will accommodate more than 58,000 spectators. A specialised American company has been contracted to broadcast the celebration by satellite television. This company will pay the government $1.5 million for marketing the celebration to television stations in 80 countries," Hosni said.
He also explained that the site of the celebration will be considerably far from the pyramids. "The festivities will feature an electronic music opera, special lighting effects and some fireworks. These will, by no means, have a detrimental effect on the pyramids. Some 1,000 artists will take part in the performance. Egyptian artists, including folkloric troupes, ballet dancers and musicians, will make up 80 per cent of the total number of performers," he said.
Hosni, however, surprised his audience by revealing that the suggestion to install a golden pyramidion on top of Khufu's pyramid has not yet been finally decided. "The scenario of the celebration is still open and will be subject to revision every now and then," he said. Gaballah Ali Gaballah, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the idea of the golden "pyramidion" is important "because it symbolises the sun god. The Pharaohs used to build this pyramidion of granite and colour it in a golden hue".
Hosni said that he is fully aware that the millennium celebration will coincide with Ramadan. "Mindful of this fact, it was decided that the celebration will last from 10.30 pm on 31 December to 1.00 am on 1 January." Hosni said that this decision was made in order to facilitate observing the Ramadan iftar (the sunset breakfast) and sohour (the dawn meal). He disclosed that he had sought the opinion of religious clerics on a proposal by the event's director that the azan (call to prayers) be aired worldwide, followed by musical melodies, at the end of the celebration. "They all agreed that this did not violate any of Ramadan's traditions," Hosni said.
He concluded by saying that the idea of the celebration first came to his mind during a visit to Paris two years ago. "At the time, there was much talk in many countries about how the millennium should be celebrated. This confronted me with a major responsibility and it came to my mind that a millennium celebration should be organised near the Khufu pyramid," he said.
Abul-Enein reacted by declaring that he was impressed by Hosni's description of the planned event. "It will mark the advent of the third millennium for the entire world, but it will mark the advent of the seventh millennium for Egyptian civilisation," Abul-Enein asserted.
