It was a FIRST! The Golden Globes coming to Cairo in a tribute event, in collaboration with Enigma, to hand out the Omar Sharif Award in a celebration of Egyptian talent. For such a mega event, it was a no brainer to go for the best in every aspect of the event, and this is where Pro Vision came in.
Pro Vision’s exceptional flawless lighting, screen solutions and innovative techniques brought the entire event’s vision to life. Enigma’s Maher Shaker seized this opportunity to get a closer look at the Company and its inspirational Founder and CEO, Ramy Azmy.
Despite an academic background in accounting and a brief stint as a banker on graduation, the allure of events always drew him in. Evolving from simply enjoying attending events, to organising small scale ones with a group of friends; he decided to go professional: “One day it got real and I decided to go attend my first lighting exhibition in Frankfurt Germany called Pro Light and Sound. And I took it from there,” he shares.
Of the multiple elements in any given event, it was lighting that captured Ramy’s imagination. “What attracted me to this field is how the lighting has a huge role in transforming a place and taking it to a whole new level. It’s a major game changer in any event.”
Event organisation and striking that perfect balance with the client is no easy feat. It takes long hours of planning, organisation and tailoring. On his approach, Ramy explains: “I always work with the event planner. Get an overview of the plan, then we discuss the floor plan together. I mainly focus on architectural lighting and decorative ones for weddings, having a different outcome every time for each wedding,” adding that “Architectural lighting is more challenging than party lighting and that’s what makes every event unique than the other.”
When it comes to mega events, which is a regular occurrence for Pro Vision, time management and meeting the deadline is always the big challenge as the work is getting done on a bigger scale. “The most challenging ones are the outdoor events because we have to take into consideration the weather factor and safety of the workers and guests. The dimensions also differ in the outdoor events from one venue to the other so we have to be creative to do what works best with the place and bring it to life,” Ramy explains, adding “We have to inspect the venue, take floor plans and requirements, and work from there on customising the lighting design and distribution, and have ongoing meetings till we reach the best outcome possible. We have to have a timeframe to such big events and strong communication among the team and the client to guarantee successful results.”
Taking a trip down memory lane, Ramy recalls his start in the field before establishing Pro Vision in 2010 with his Partner Hatem Elkhouly. “The very first event I held was a concert for Wael Kafoury in 2000 at Salah ElDin citadel in Alexandria. It was that event that opened up new opportunities for me in the lighting field,” he shares. Another major turning point in his career was the opening of the African cup for the Olympic team under 19 at the Cairo stadium in 2019.
While the African cup opening event was pivotal in his career, yet it came with major challenges and its share of pressure. “It was the first time to work on such an event of its kind, and it took days and nights of planning to come up with a lighting system and design that would show off the beauty of the stadium and place, and to represent our Egyptian national team in the best way possible. Moreover, it was key to portray the best image of Egypt all over the world.”
Being a market leader requires years of hard work and resilience. Staying on top is doubly hard. “As a market leader we focus not only on being updated with new technology, effects, equipment and techniques, but also on bringing them in and adopting them right away. We attend all big lighting exhibitions that take place outside Egypt and bring that in with new facelift and renovations. This is what keeps us in the lead always,” says Ramy. Having the best team in place is equally crucial. “We always work to upgrade our teams’ skills and knowledge to keep them in the loop, and we also work on expanding our number of teams,” he asserts.
Pro Vision, with the solid name it has established in the industry is certainly very attractive to those who share the passion for events management, so what should hopeful joiners be prepared for? To this end, Ramy says: “Any technician that works for pro vision has to have at least three to four months of training on the ground with us. Attend all different kinds of events and stay in the loop with the other workers. They have to be taught our own techniques of lighting that makes us different,” Ramy explains.
Events management is clearly a complex, challenging and fast evolving field with tight deadlines, high exposure and a great deal of pressure. The thrill of the process, striking that desired outcome and the overall magical transformation of the event is definitely worth it all as Pro vision have proven time and again.