Hakim; the 3rd Egyptian singer to perform on Olympia Theater

CAIRO - 10 September 2017: The renowned Egyptian singer Hakim will perform at Olympia Theater in Paris on September 23, to be the third Egyptian singer to sing on that prominent theatre after the great late Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez and the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum. Hakim held a press conference on Saturday to reveal all the details pertaining to his next European tour to perform some concerts there.

“It is a great honour to represent Egypt in European countries,” recounted Hakim. Hakim pointed out during the conference that he decided to use this tour to promote tourism in Egypt using art to bypass the current crisis.

The conference was attended by the great singer and composer Hamid al-Shaari and Hesham al- Demiry the head of the Tourism Promotion Authority. “I have seen in my concerts abroad over the past years many stars promoting their countries, so I decided to follow their footsteps, and I am proud to serve Egyptian tourism through my work to introduce Egyptian folk art to the whole world so that they get to know us,” said Hakim.

Hakim admitted that for nearly 20 years he tried to promote Egypt in all his concerts abroad but nobody supported him, until the opportunity came when Demiry responded to his demand and started to support him.

Hakim is currently working with his team on the songs and the show, as he will present new versions of his old songs, in addition to his latest ones. Posters of the concert are on different billboards in Paris, and two teasers were released for the concert. Prices of the tickets range from €33 to €198 ($40 to $238) and are available online.

Olympia is the oldest active music hall in Paris which has featured a number of impressive artists like Sylvie Vartan, Jacques Brel, Dalida, Celen Dion, Diana, Marlene Dietrich, the Jackson Five and the Beatles. Hakim is a very popular “Sha’abi” [folk] singer in Egypt. In the capital of Cairo during the nineties, and with the help of Shaari, he released his first album, “Nazra”, on the Slam Records label in 1992. The success was immediate and propelled him to fame in Egypt. He released a new album in 1994, “Nar”, which represented Egypt at the Festival des Allumées in Nantes the same year, and obtained a nomination at the Kora Awards in 1997.

The singer paired with Narada Michael and Olga Tañon in 2002, James Brown in 2004 and Don Omar in 2007. He is one of the most prominent representatives of Jeel or Gil music, a synthesis of Sha'abi and Western influences.