When the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) held its opening ceremony on November 1, Lighting Designer Roland Greil together with technical vendor and producer Hilights chose Claypaky Skylos fixtures to draw all eyes to the majesty of the Hanging Obelisk, the country’s first elevated obelisk. Placed in a 30,000-meter piazza in front of GEM’s pyramid-shaped main entrance, the obelisk is the first artefact to welcome visitors to explore the wonders of the ancient world.
GEM is believed to be the world’s largest archaeological museum housing some 100,000 artefacts, including the entire contents of Tutankhamun’s tomb. It is located outside Cairo, about two kilometers from the Giza Pyramids complex. GEM’s opening ceremony, attended by the Egyptian president, foreign dignitaries, royals and celebrities, featured live music and dancing, projections on the museum façade as well as on a trapezoidal LED videoscreen, drones tracing images of the pharaohs in the night sky, and fireworks – with the Giza pyramids offering a dramatic backdrop in the desert.
A state-of-the-art lighting system, featuring more than 5,000 fixtures, was deployed for the opening ceremony in a 360º Collective project by Live Legends and Roland Greil Design - Direction for Hilights Group. Greil is a Founding Partner of 360º Collective, which unites experts from producing, creative, design, technical, operational and production disciplines in a comprehensive 360° strategy to cover every aspect of a project.
Greil’s team was charged with creating a breathtaking visual experience that elevated the scale and cultural significance of the historic ceremony. As part of the project Greil positioned 24 Claypaky Skylos around the Hanging Obelisk for the part of the show where the artefact took center stage.
Much more than a classic searchlight, Skylos is an extremely versatile fixture in every way. It has a custom 300W white light laser source, which provides an extremely parallel, uniform beam; incredible light output with low power consumption; and outstanding construction with IP66-rated protection ideal for operation in a desert environment.
Greil had previously used Skylos on Cro’s Cronicles Tour 2024. “GEM was the second show where I was able to use this amazing light,” says Greil. “The combination of their big lens with firepower and good beam definition make the Skylos stand out.
“The opening ceremony had a special Hanging Obelisk scene, and we needed to give it the highlight it deserved,” he explains. “We wanted to light the obelisk beautifully and frame it in a way to put the focus on it.”
To that end, Skylos delivered powerful sky-tracking effects with stunning beams that added depth and grandeur to the unique outdoor environment.
Greil says that thanks to “their great bright and wide beam, Skylos was exactly the right choice to frame the amazing Hanging Obelisk and give us a big sky look that added to the great scope of the show itself.”
Greil also employed 62 Claypaky Hy B-Eye K15 and K25 fixtures, which were used as lighting for the entrance areas.
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