Pyramids to flash millennium light

CAIRO, OCT 4: In a symbol of the renewal of life through the ages, Egypt's Great Pyramid of Cheops will be rigged to emit golden rays of ...

CAIRO, OCT 4: In a symbol of the renewal of life through the ages, Egypt8217;s Great Pyramid of Cheops will be rigged to emit golden rays of light at the birth of the new millennium after an all-night electronic opera.

The rays will bathe an international audience of 50,000 people at dawn on the year 2000 on the desert plateau by Cheops and the two other pyramids, the last of the seven wonders of the ancient world still in existence.

The moment will also be beamed to a world television audience in what officials here see as a great opportunity to promote Egypt, whose tourism has suffered greatly from Islamic militant violence. In a three-act performance with the two other focal points at sunset and midnight, French composer Jean-Michel Jarre revealed he will follow the theme of 8220;Twelve Dreams of the Sun8221;, central to ancient Egyptian mythology.

His 8220;special effects will give the illusion that the pyramids are the doors through which the sun passes,8221; he told a news conference here on Wednesday. 8220;Inancient Egypt, the sun travelled through the night passing through 12 doors, each one representing a dream, to be reborn young and perfect,8221; Jarre said. 8220;The sun, symbol of Egypt and time, seemed to me to be the best analogy to celebrate the new millennium,8221; he said. There will also be fireworks, dances, a blend of Oriental and Western music, as well as performances by Egyptian groups playing ancient Egyptian instruments.

A brochure released at the news conference said the show was designed to revive notions from an ancient time. 8220;The essence of the ancient Egyptian civilisation and its primary catalyst is the ancient Egyptian belief that human life is never ending with death,8221; it said.

Cheops, estimated to be 4,500 years old and the largest of the trio at 137 meters tall, re-opened to tourists in June after more than a year of restoration.

Egypt is promoting the event as marking the start of its own seventh millennium, although critics point out it also coincides with the subdued Muslim fastingmonth of Ramadan.Critics have also complained that Jarre and his cast of 1,000 performers, technicians and others were receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars for a performance that should have been awarded primarily to Egyptians.

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They also fear Cheops will be damaged when show organisers place a modern nine metres high golden pyramid atop the pyramid8217;s missing peak to transmit the rays of light for the dawn culmination.

But culture minister Faruk Hosni, who was at Wednesday8217;s press conference, again defended the celebration. 8220;Its 9.5-million cost8230;is much lower than the artistic value of the show,8221; he said.Hosni added that a consortium involving 60 countries will broadcast 20 minutes of the extravaganza on 300 television channels.