Although the Egyptian singer, born in 1904 as Fatima Ibrahim Al-Sayed Al-Beltaji and known throughout most of her life as "Umm Kulthum" and the artistic title "Star of the East," passed away in 1975 at the age of 70, she is set to "return" to singing once again. She will appear to those attending her concert as if she is alive in front of them. The concert is part of the "Mawazine Festival," which begins on Friday and runs until June 29 in the Moroccan city of Rabat. Umm Kulthum will appear using Holography technology, according to a statement on the festival's official Facebook page. The concert will be held on Sunday evening at the Mohammed V National Theater in the Moroccan capital.
"The art is renewed with the names of legends," the statement read. "Get ready for a special evening with the enchanting Hologram technology to revive the great concert of the Star of the East, Umm Kulthum, because art is renewed with the names of legends," a news that has generated reactions from the festival audience through dozens of comments.
This is not the first time "holographic imagery" has been used to present Umm Kulthum's songs again. In 2019, a concert was held at the Dubai Opera where Umm Kulthum appeared via Hologram technology. The experience was repeated in a concert held at the Abdeen Palace in Cairo, and in 2021 the same technique was used for a concert featuring the artist in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Last year, the Jordanian audience also witnessed Umm Kulthum's presence in a "holographic" concert held at the Cultural Palace in Amman.
