Description

A few weeks before the January 25 revolution in Egypt, Cairo Governor Abdel-Azim Wazir made an unexpected decision: all of the billboard advertising in Tahrir Square and other historic areas in downtown Cairo would be removed because they were considered eyesores and could damage historic buildings. The decision to remove billboards was never implemented, except in one place: Tahrir Square. In the days leading up to the revolution the billboards atop the buildings in the square were removed. Soon thereafter Tahrir Square became one of the most iconic places in the world, a symbol befitting its name, tahrir, or liberation. Had the billboards remained, it would have constituted a major marketing coup for some of the biggest companies in the world. Imagine this slogan: The liberation of Egypt, brought to you by Coca-Cola. For 18 days and ever since the world has focused on Tahrir Square, and the billboards would have been a fixture in the videos streamed from there. Instead, much of the focus has been on the Egyptian people themselves who occupied the space in a gesture that said they were the true owners of the streets. Unknowingly, the governor of Cairo had initiated the first step in a process of reclaiming public space that Egyptians are still fighting today as they face laws restricting public gatherings and speech.