BBC News has launched a two-part “virtual reality” series to “transport” viewers down the river Nile and into its changing politics.
Damming The Nile has been made in partnership with BBC VR and is available from today on the BBC VR app for use on Oculus Rift VR devices.
Viewers can explore the new Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project by “travelling” through canyons and waterfalls.
Featuring 360-video, the series will follow the investigations of BBC Africa correspondent Alastair Leithead through Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt.
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Leithead said: “As a foreign correspondent, my job is to introduce people to new and fascinating places, challenge stereotypes and explain how countries are growing and changing.
“Virtual reality means films like Damming the Nile VR can actually take our audiences there so they can see it for themselves.
“Once you put on a headset and enter the virtual world, you come with us on assignment to Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt to explore their issues up close, and understand the politics of the Nile through a unique new perspective.”
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The BBC has also launched a new website to watch the series, and it will also be available on YouTube.
The story will also be aired as a news documentary on BBC TV channels and can be read on BBC news stories.
The BBC began using virtual reality technology in its current affairs coverage in 2016, including We Wait, created from BBC News interviews with refugees, that puts viewers “alongside a terrified Syrian family crossing the sea” in a computer-generated scenario.
Picture: BBC
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