Friday March 29th, 2024
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Downtown Cinema Set to Reopen

Having been left in disarray after a fire engulfed the property, the historic Lido Cinema in downtown Cairo is set for a revamp.

Staff Writer

Twenty years ago, a fire devoured most of Downtown Cairo's Cinema Lido. Naturally, it was forced to shut down, and in keeping with an Egyptian theme of failing to repair things, the burnt structure hasn’t been touched in since

Now however, the cinema on Emad Eddin Street is set to reopen. A company called Egypt's Company for Sound, Light and Cinema has taken it upon themselves to renovate the cinema at the price tag of nearly 15 million EGP. The project, which is being led by engineer Fawzy Abdel-Hamid, will see the cinema-in-progress adapt to fit the new structure of movie theatres across the country. It will be transformed into a multiplex with its main hall divived into four screens.

According to Abdel-Hamid, Lido's renovation is just the start – the company's got a long-term vision not only to expand cinema halls, but to create a whole range of facilities for film production such as labs and film storage units.

It's nice to see someone taking a vested interest in old buildings Downtown, and also working to improve the cinema industry in the country, which y'know, anyone can tell you certainly has room for improvement.