At his first live concert in Egypt, Enrique Iglesias kept his fans dancing all night long. Dena Rashed swayed to his rhythms "Oh my God, it is really him," screamed 19-year-old Yara as global heart-throb Enrique Iglesias appeared on stage. Standing on a table at the back of the concert hall, Yara began to weep, "so happy", she said through the flow of tears, to have seen him. Yara was just one of thousands of young girls who had been waiting for a month just to catch a glimpse and hear Iglesias perform live in Cairo. For him, the end result came as a surprise. "It is my first time in Egypt, I don't know what to expect, the people have been great. I will have to wait till after the concert and see what will happen," Iglesias told reporters prior to the concert. "But so far the tickets have been sold out so at least people want to listen to my music," he laughed. "I am expecting a good thing." It was good indeed. The concert which took place last Saturday at the Media Production City in the Sixth of October city attracted around 25,000 fans. Testimony to his popularity and the support of the young crowd were the hefty prices of the tickets, which ranged from LE2,000, LE1,500, LE1,000 and LE500 to LE200, guaranteeing only a place to stand and big screens to see Iglesias. But even for those with the LE200 tickets, who had to jump on tables just to get a glimpse of the distant star, the money was worth its while. "I can't see anything," said Mahi Abdel-Moez,19. "Still it is great to attend a concert for Enrique, he is amazing!". She came to the concert with five of her girlfriends, who are "madly in love" with Enrique and his music. "We know all the songs, the lyrics and all about him, I wish we could see him in person," said another member of the enthused crowd, Rwan Bandak. No sooner had he started singing, the fans rose to their feet, started screaming, singing and dancing. His famous hits "Viva la música", "Rhythm Divine" and "Not in Love" -- the most popular in Egypt -- put the audience in a frenzied state. Not only did he sing his own hits, but he also sang "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", encouraging "the guys" to join in. Iglesias managed to catch the attention of his audience not only with his songs and moves, but also with his talk. "Egypt is beautiful and you should be proud of it," he shouted to his audience. And as he brought a little girl to the stage and sang "Stand by Me" to her, he connected with the audience, and they connected back. Although the audience at the back hardly saw Enrique, he showed them he came for them too. Every couple of songs, he would address the large crowd at the back, and ask them if they are enjoying their time. "You could come over here if you want, do whatever you want, don't listen to the organisers, enjoy your time," he smiled. And the young people at the back, of course, just loved him for saying that. They shouted back words of appreciation and went on dancing. "He knew we are his real audience, we are the young people who really know and love his music not those who paid LE2,000 to sit in the front rows," said Sally, a 17-year-old veiled girl. As for the crowd at the front, he teased them by asking them to relax and get up. "What are you guys, politicians?" he said. "Come on, stand up." They did not fail him -- with the likes of business tycoon Naguib Sawiris getting into the rhythm -- and the crowds screamed again. As Enrique started singing "Could I Have this Kiss Forever?" romance was in the air for many of the young couples who started slow-dancing. As for the groups of young girls who came single, they just moved with the rhythm. The female singer performing the song with him was the target of the comments of many of the young men. "Oh my God, isn't she gorgeous or what?" enthused 22-year-old Alaa. Iglesias grabbed the singer, who was wearing low- cut jeans and a revealing top from the waist, and the crowd's excitement grew. It seemed the cameraman was also very alert and followed Enrique's hands wherever they went. The youngsters started staring at the big screen as he put his hand on the female singer's bare back and dropped over her. "Are they going to kiss?" said a boy from the crowd. To his disappointment, as the song slowed down, the lights dimmed and were switched off. "Put on the lights," shouted a couple of boys. "Too bad we didn't see that," giggled another gathering of teens. The concert was unprecedented in its success -- erasing the bitter memory of Sting's Pyramids performance plagued by bad organisation and a raucous crowd. To the crowd that night, the spirit was different. "I like Enrique but the thing I enjoy most is hanging around with my friends. We are all here and we rarely get to enjoy our time like today," said Karim Hendam, 22. Iglesias was preceded by Lebanese sex symbol, Nancy Agram, who sang her latest Arabic hits. And it was then that the concert's only basic flaw struck. The audience standing at the back couldn't see Agram, and the screens were not on. The audience at the back started throwing plastic water bottles at the front seats. "The bad thing about the concert is that the people who got the LE500 tickets were standing too; they should have put us into their consideration," said Reem, 17, in the LE200 section. But the problem stemmed beyond that -- Agram's performance failed her fans altogether. "She is singing without a band, and we can't even see her," said Mohamed Farouk, 19. It was rumoured that Agram was brought to attract the male audience, as it was thought that Enrique was going to attract a mainly female audience. However that proved to be false. Many boys and young men came to see Enrique too. "I love his music and I came especially to see him," said Farouk. Another young man who was excited to hear Iglesias's songs stood over a high fence, took his shirt off and started dancing to the beat. "On stage I don't think the language matters," Iglesias said before the concert. And it certainly was not a barrier -- the audience interacted with him, even when he was singing his Spanish song "Bailamos". Asked at the press conference whether he would ask a woman from the audience to dance with him, Enrique said, "it depends." The video clip for his song "Hero", played over and over on one of the popular local music channels, featured him and a woman he chose from the audience to dance with him. This video clip kept many girls and boys in eager waiting. On the screen, many girls who were close to the stage were raising their hands waiting for his choice. But they were disappointed when he picked an older woman. "It is a nice gesture to bring an old lady to dance with," said 20- year-old Omnia Abdel-Hai. However, Maria, the lady he brought onto the stage was embarrassed and whispered in Enrique's ear. "It will only be a dance, I promise," he told her loud enough for the crowd to hear. As he slow-danced and sang his hit song "Hero" to her, the crowd went wild. As he kissed her on the forehead and held her up in his arms, the crowd cheered with abandon. Despite the fact that many of the young fans were not satisfied with their view -- or lack of one -- the concert created hope for the future of concerts in Egypt. In terms of both organisation and security, the event gained applause. "I thought it would be disorganised but I am glad it turned up in a good way," said Tareq Yafi, a "huge" fan. "As for Enrique he was very good, he knows how to attract an audience." For Enrique, this magnetism comes easily. He described himself as a kid who loves music. "It was my dream to always do music," he shared.
