How Egypt is reviving tourism to the country

Egypt is using the ancient grandeur of its pyramids as a backdrop for pop concerts and fashion shows, hoping to boost its image, tourism and the luxury brand sector beloved by its moneyed elite.

French fashion house Dior debuted its latest collection last Saturday at the Giza pyramids, after Italian designer Stefano Ricci held a show at Luxor’s dramatic Temple of Hatshepsut in October.

Dior chief executive Pietro Beccari said the fashion house chose the pyramids as far more than “just a useless background”, drawing on Egyptian astrology for the collection named “Celestial”.

Before that, American pop bands Maroon 5 and the Black Eyed Peas performed at the Giza Necropolis, where contemporary art was also recently shown at the latest Art d’Egypte exhibition.

Egypt heading in a new direction

The modern cultural push is a new direction for Egypt’s image.

Long a cultural powerhouse in the Arab world, with wildly popular singers and movie stars especially in its heyday in the 1950s-70s, Egypt has set its sights on its ancient heritage to attract the global spotlight once more.