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Sting concert not without problems
Organizational problems and a controversy over why Egyptian singer Hakim didn't perform marred an otherwise enchanting concert by mega-star Sting at the Pyramids on Wednesday night in Cairo
April 25, 2001
Two hours into the Sting concert by the Pyramids, hundreds of cars and buses filled with ticket-holders were still lined up on the Fayoum desert highway waiting to get into the concert venue. Word was quickly going round that police had closed the Fayoum highway entrance to the Pyramids, even though all the ticket holders had been instructed to head there and wait for buses which would transport them to the Sound and Light stage at the foot of the Sphinx, where the concert was being held.
The primary reaction among those unable to get in was utter disbelief.
"There's only room for 8, 000 people in there," explained a policeman, "and the organizer seems to have sold over 25,000 tickets. He's being questioned at the Haram police station right now."
Whether or not that was true, it was certainly not enough to appease most of the fans who had paid between LE 65 and LE 125 for their tickets, and were not ready to just give up and go home.
"Try the Mena House gate," one officer suggested.
"I was just there...they told me to come here," said the driver. "This is the third time I've come back to this gate."
Eventually, some people were allowed in through the Mena House entrance, and although by then they had missed Lebanese singer Elissa, and were unaware of the exact reasons as to why Hakim didn't end up playing, they did manage to catch most of Sting's performance, and the highlight of the show, the hit Desert Rose with Algerian rai star Cheb Mami.
In general, the concert revealed the sad fact that successful organization of mega-events in Egypt was still somewhat lacking. Fans who had previously attended the much-maligned Millennium concert at the Pyramids starring Jean Michel Jarre were braced for the worst, after having seen what it was like trying to get hundreds of thousands of people safely onto the Pyramids plateau. Horror stories of overcrowded buses, 8-kilometer treks through the desert, and 4 hour waits just to get into the show had been circulated ad nauseum after the event, which, in any case, had been marred by a thick fog over the whole spectacle.
The Sting mega-show this time, however, was supposed to be different. While the Millennium extravaganza had been sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, this event was fully private sector. Plus, the number of attendees were supposed to be far less. Nonetheless, the event was plagued by the same sorts of problems. Not enough buses, not enough signs, poor communication, and not much cooperation between organizers and police.
There were problems on stage as well. Concert goers waiting for pop star Hakim to perform were surprised when, at 10 pm, the singer came on stage to say he wasn't being allowed to perform. "Whoever is willing to accept the insult of an Egyptian in Egypt can stay, but I'm leaving. Goodbye!''
Hakim told cairolive.com by phone after the concert that he had been treated poorly throughout the day. "I turned up as scheduled for the rehearsal at 2pm, and they made me wait until 7. Then, when I got to the concert at 9:50 for my 10pm appearance, I discovered that Sting's band had already started removing my band's equipment from the stage."
Hakim was livid about what he saw as a major insult to Egyptian artists on Egyptian soil. "And at the Pyramids no less," he said. The singer said he had submitted a complaint against the organizer at a local police station.
For his part, the organizer, representing a company called East of West, argued that Hakim had been late for his slot at the concert. As for the problems outside the gates, all he had to say was, "The people in here are happy," claiming that any problems over security were the fault of the police. In earlier interviews with the press, representatives of the company had also complained of general beaurocratic difficulties involved in organizing the show.
 Those who finally did manage to get into the concert, however, were treated to great show which featured a medley of songs from Sting's latest album, Brand New day, as well as classics such as Roxanne, Every Breath You take, and Walking on the Moon.
The crowd went especially wild when Mami joined Sting for Desert Rose, and the song seemed especially appropriate sung at the edge of the world's largest desert and in the presence of its most famous monuments.
Click here to find out what dardasha has to say on this subject
Click here to find out what happened at the press conference before the concert
Did you like this article? Send your comments to comments@cairolive.com
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