L-Acoustics delivers golden sound for Mummies on Parade
Egypt – The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) in Fustat is one of UNESCO’s projects to help safeguard and preserve Egypt’s cultural heritage. The April opening of the new-build museum was marked with a lavish ceremony, in anticipation of which the Egyptian government undertook a multi-million-dollar investment to re-paint, re-light, and equip downtown Cairo with sound. The epic opening ceremony, which was supervised, directed and organised by Media Hub Saadi-Gohar Company, combined marching bands, cheering children, synchronised lighting, and a line-up of famous Egyptian actors and singers. The centrepiece of the productions was the transfer of the mummies of the ancient kings and queens of Egypt from their previous resting place in the Egyptian Museum to their new home. Twenty-two mummies in chronological order of their reigns, from the 17th Dynasty ruler, Seqenenre Taa II, to Ramses IX, who reigned in the 12th Century BC, were paraded through in the heart of Cairo while Egyptians – and the world – watched and listened to the historic pageant. Each mummy sat in a nitrogen-filled box to protect against decomposition caused by oxygen exposure, atop a decorated vehicle disguised to look like an Egyptian boat. Each of these vehicles was fitted with heavy shock absorbers to protect the fragile National treasures from possible bumps in the road, despite the road's recent re-pavement in preparation for the royal transport. For the occasion, L-Acoustics kept the pharaohs’ sound as golden as their sarcophagi.