STORY:
Egypt Planning Huge Pyramid Show

French composer finalizing plans for a symphony of music, lasers and fireworks

One of the most anticipated and talked about New Year's Eve events will take place at the base of one of the Great Pyramids in Giza Egypt. Now, French composer Jean-Michel Jarre has announced final plans for a symphony of music, lasers and fireworks. According to press reports, he says he will usher in the new millennium with a show of laser lights, fireworks, dances, and blend of Oriental and Western music at the Pyramids.

At the first sunrise of 2000, his electronic opera will produce golden rays of light from atop the Cheops pyramid to signal the birth of the millennium to his audience in Egypt and on world television, Jarre told a press conference.

In a three-act performance with dramatic high points at sunset, midnight and sunrise, he will follow the theme of "Twelve Dreams of the Sun," central to ancient Egyptian mythology. His "special effects will give the illusion that the Pyramids are the doors through which the sun passes," he said.

"In ancient Egypt, the sun traveled through the night passing through 12 doors, each one representing a dream, to be reborn young and perfect. The sun, symbol of Egypt and time, seemed to me to be the best analogy to celebrate the new millennium," Jarre said.

A live audience of around 50,000 people from Egypt and around the world is expected to attend the event on the desert plateau of Giza, part of greater Cairo, with the price of tickets ranging from 150 dollars to 400 dollars. The celebrations will start at sunset on New Year's eve 1999, until sunrise of the first day of the New Year 2000.

Besides music, there will be choreographed dances by Egyptian groups, which will also play instruments from the time of the pharaohs.

Culture Minister Faruk Hosn said a consortium involving 60 countries will broadcast 20 minutes of the extravaganza on 300 television channels in a "promotion blitz for Egypt in which every minute is worth a publicity campaign."

DATE: 9/29/99

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