Cairo Opera House

In 2015 during Signify's sixth consecutive Cape Town to Cairo roadshow, Signify unveiled the illuminated Cairo Opera House. Signify provided the Cairo Opera House with a stunning makeover that has radically boosted the beautification of this iconic building. By using its latest LED lighting technology, which has a lifespan of up to 50,000 hours, Signify will enable the Opera House to reduce its energy consumption by up to 80% compared with conventional lighting currently used in the Opera House.

Reigniting cultural pride

The Cairo Opera House is a cultural landmark renowned for leadership, excellence and imagination. It has carved itself a significant position in the cultural landscape of Egypt and the Middle East. With its appealing mix of high-quality traditional events, and its unique venues as well as its state of the art facilities, the Cairo Opera House is exceptionally suited to fulfill its mission to become a representation of art in Egypt and across the world.

Tamer Abol Ghar, Country Manager Egypt & General Manager Africa, Lighting Professional End User Sales, commented: “It is with great pride that we can today unveil the stunning LED makeover of the Cairo Opera House. The lighting not only magnifies the beauty of the renowned building, but it will also enable a significant reduction of energy consumption at the Opera House. As the global leader in LED lighting, we have made massive strides in recent years with regards LEDs, and it’s really quite remarkable to witness the effect the lighting of a building or a landmark can have on an entire city or region. We have no doubt that the people of Cairo will enjoy the Opera House for many more years to come, and hopefully as a result of the dynamic new lighting it will be seen in a completely new light not only by locals, but by the world.”

Signify's new lighting concept focused on highlighting the importance of the building as a source of cultural pride. Located in the southern part of Gezira Island, this iconic building now houses new Signify dynamic lighting, which ensures it is visible from anywhere up to half a kilometer away on the River Nile. The new Signify lighting design has guaranteed that the viewing points of the Opera House are the main feature, with light and shadow applied in such a way that the building’s structures are also emphasized.

The initial challenge for Signify’s design team was to give the iconic Opera House a more innovative look while maintaining the authentic and historic atmosphere of the Opera House. The Signify team applied its innovative Vaya LED lights which create an endless spectrum of colors to highlight the features of this architectural masterpiece, and allowed Signify to introduce a vibrant ambiance that changes depending on the performance happening inside the Opera House.

The usage of intelligent RGB flood lights on the façade of the Cairo Opera House turns the hall into a landmark that is highly attractive, adding visual comfort as well as an expressive environment at night. The domes of the building have been illuminated using intelligent RGB floodlights with wide beam angle to highlight the octagonal base shape.

The entire project at the Cairo Opera House took Signify four months to complete – this included the design, implementation and installation of 160 Color Kinetics Vaya Series luminaires.