Booking choice: The Sound and Light show, from $55 per person. Check dates Tour details
The Sound and Light show at Giza seats you on the Sphinx side of the plateau, turns the floodlights onto the pyramids and lets a recorded Sphinx tell the story. It has run since the 1960s.
Since 2025 it has been redeveloped, cut back and cancelled at short notice, and in October 2026 it was reported suspended again. Here is the state of things, what tickets cost, and how to avoid a wasted evening.
The quick answer
As of 22 October 2026 the Pyramids show was reported suspended for development work, and the official site was not taking bookings for it. When it runs, the official price is US$20 (child 6 to 12 $11, VIP $26) in a choice of 10 languages. Check soundandlight.show before you book anything, and only book a tour with free cancellation.
Is the Giza Sound and Light show running in October 2026?
Reportedly not. It was listed as temporarily suspended for development in mid October 2026, and on 22 October the official site would not book the Pyramids show.
The Cairo guide site cairotourism.org updated its page on 15 October 2026 to say the show is "temporarily suspended for development work" and to check the official site before planning. On 22 October the booking button for the Pyramids show on soundandlight.show was switched off, while the company's shows at other sites booked normally.
The official page itself says, in capitals, "DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE". Take that literally. A suspension can lift without much notice, and it can come back just as fast.
Why has the show been so unreliable since 2025?
Because it is being rebuilt. Orascom's OSL co-manages the shows and is replacing the old floodlight production, and the schedule has shrunk and stopped around that work.
The show belongs to the state-owned Misr Company for Sound, Light and Tourism Development. Under a contract signed in 2021-22, Orascom Investment Holding's OSL develops and co-manages it. Ahram reported a trial with new VR technology from 25 May 2025, and the German studio Tamschick Media + Space lists a new show for the pyramids, "Echoes of the Pyramids", as upcoming in 2026.
Meanwhile the old show kept running in fits. Tourism Chamber circulars reported by Cairo24 and Egypt Telegraph give the pattern.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 16 and 17 April 2025 | No show "due to renovations" (organisers' email quoted by a Viator reviewer) |
| 25 May 2025 | Trial of new VR technology begins |
| 16 to 20 July 2025 | Show resumes, one English show a day at 20:30 |
| 25 July to 10 August 2025 | Select days only, one show at 20:30 in English |
| July 2026 | A Viator guest reports a cancellation two hours before the show |
| 15 to 22 October 2026 | Reported suspended for development; official booking off |
How much does the Giza Sound and Light show cost?
Officially US$20 for an adult, $11 for a child aged 6 to 12 and $26 for a VIP seat. Tours with hotel pickup cost more.
Those are the prices on soundandlight.show, which also promises a choice of "10 different languages". Languages rotate between the evening's shows. The catch is the second show: it runs only "with a minimum of 5 foreign individuals or 5 Arabic tickets", except on Thursday. If you are booked into a late show in a less common language, it can be dropped for lack of numbers.
The show lasts about 50 to 60 minutes. Seats face the Sphinx and the pyramids from Abu el-Hol Square in Nazlet el-Semman, next to the Sphinx gate.
| Ticket | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Official regular | US$20 | Seat, show in your chosen language |
| Official child (6 to 12) | US$11 | Seat |
| Official VIP | US$26 | Better seat |
| Viator show tour, EMO Tours | $55 | Ticket, hotel pickup and drop-off |
What do reviewers of the Viator show tour say?
The 3.4 rating from 167 reviews comes mostly from cancellations and slow refunds. When the show runs, people like the pickup and the night photos and find the show dated.
The one-star reviews tell the redevelopment story. In April 2025 a guest was told on the day that organisers had emailed that the show "would not take place on days 16 and 17 due to renovations". In July 2026 another guest says the activity was called off two hours before it was due. Several complain about chasing refunds afterwards.
The middle reviews are about the show itself: "very dated", narration by what one guest heard as Shakespearean actors, floodlights rather than projection, and lights switched off "abruptly at the end" before anyone got a photo. A 2024 reviewer was also steered to a jewellery shop before the show.
The five-star reviews praise the pickup through evening traffic, the guide, and the view: "worth it alone for the pics". That is fair. The lit pyramids against a black sky are the reason to go.
How do you check the show is on before you book?
Look at the booking page on soundandlight.show for your date, book only with free cancellation, and message the operator the day before.
- Official site first. If soundandlight.show will not sell a Pyramids ticket for your date, assume there is no show.
- Free cancellation. The Viator show tour cancels for a full refund up to 24 hours before. Its own listing warns that pickup times may change "due to ... changes to the official Sound and Light Show schedule".
- Message the day before. Ask the operator to confirm the show time and language on the day.
- Book early in your stay. A cancelled show on night one can be moved; on your last night it cannot.
If it is off, the pyramids still look good after dark. The rooftop cafés of Nazlet el-Semman face the Sphinx, show or no show.
Hotel pickup, the show ticket and a seat facing the Sphinx. Check the show is running first.
Check dates for the Sound and Light showIs the Sound and Light show worth it when it runs?
Once, for the view. Not for the script.
Go with the right expectations. This is an old-school floodlight show with a long recorded narration, not a projection-mapped spectacle. Kids get bored. Photographers do well, especially if you arrive before sunset. A guest in 2023 timed a 19:00 pickup to watch the sun go down behind the Sphinx first.
If the new production opens, this answer changes. For a daytime look at the same view from the terrace, see our Sphinx guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Giza Sound and Light show cancelled?
It was reported suspended for development work in October 2026, and the official site was not selling Pyramids show tickets on 22 October. Check soundandlight.show for your date.
How much is the Sound and Light show at the pyramids?
The official price is US$20 for adults, US$11 for children aged 6 to 12 and US$26 for VIP seats. Tours with hotel pickup cost about $55.
What languages is the Giza Sound and Light show in?
The official site offers 10 languages, rotating between shows. A second show runs only with at least 5 tickets, except on Thursday.
How long is the Sound and Light show?
About 50 to 60 minutes. With hotel pickup from central Cairo, plan on two to three hours for the evening.
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Choose your tour
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
Sound and Light Show at the Giza Pyramids
The Sphinx narrates under floodlights; check the show is running first
Half-Day Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, Private Guide
- Private Egyptologist guide and driver
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Cairo or Giza
- Plateau ticket, camel and lunch only in the higher options
