Dubai to launch weekly hologram concerts with Abdel Halim Hafez show

The Egyptian singer will be the centrepiece of the new series

Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez during a live performance in 1959 in Lebanon. One of Egypt's most popular singers, he'll be the first subject of Dubai's new hologram concerts. AFP

A new series of hologram concerts of well-known singers and musicians will take place in Dubai twice a week in Al Habtoor City Theatre, complete with plenty of special effects.

Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment and hologram entertainment production agency New Dimension Productions are launching Dubai Hologram Universe at the same venue as the long-running stage show La Perle.

The first show will take place during the last week of Dubai Shopping Festival, which ends on January 30. It will bring Abdel Halim Hafez back to life in hologram format, as his projection performs on stage accompanied by live performers and musicians.

See photos of an Abdel Halim Hafez hologram concert at Dubai Opera:

During the 90-minute production, the audience can expect to hear some of Hafez’s most famous romantic songs.

Hafez, who died in 1977 aged 47, was a man with many monikers. The Egyptian singer was known as the King of Music, Son of the Nile and even the Voice of the People. Some of his most famous songs include Ahwak, Abo Oyoun Garee'a and Ya Alby Ya Khaly.

The series will also feature gigs by Umm Kulthum, Warda Al Jazairia, Frank Sinatra and more.

“We are delighted to partner with NDP in launching such an innovative initiative as the Dubai Hologram Universe that will turn the spotlight on legendary music icons through hologram technology,” said Ahmed Alkhaja, chief executive of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment.

Hasan M Hina, founder and executive producer and director of New Dimension Productions, said the move "marks the first step to achieving our long-term strategy to position Dubai as the capital of hologram entertainment”.

Hina previously told The National he believes holograms are the future of the global entertainment industry. "It's going to help us break boundaries in that we are bringing people from the past to people in the present to create new visions for the future.”

Details on where to buy tickets and how much they will be are yet to be announced.