A bit on the trivial side... have any of you wondered what made the organisors of Justin Timberlake's concert select Abu Dhabi over Dubai as a venue to host one of the biggest selling artist of the year?
hmmm.. something smells fishy....
25 October, 2007
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12 comments:
AD is sooo much nicer :- )))) I am a real fan and people are still friendly!
What? it's at AUH, not DXB,I didn't know that...
...look at the bright side, atleast you won't be stuck in traffic heading to AUH :)
Totally agree with 7S.
Whooooooooooooo?
Yeah Rosh,
Little traffic, some green spots, calm and tranquil! You can meet local families going for a walk while running along the Corniche at night and they will actually smile at you. (as in crazy expat running in this heat – no honestly, you feel some sincere friendliness) Yes, and much better – you can practice your Arabic!!! with all those taxis drivers that do not speak English and have no clue where the f*** they are going. Mostly from Peschawar and just really sympathetic with those old and dangerously crappy rides.
Then at night those beautiful mosques are lit in different colors and you can meet absolutely no one on the streets. The place still has some serious oriental charm… but you know they are trying to copy Dubai (what a nightmare!)
Let's plan a demo in NY or Hamburg to prevent that :-)
Great choice ..
and BTW it is probably faster to go from DXB to AUH, than from Dubai to Dubai (suburb Sharjah)
Very true 7S: that's how SHJ felt back in the days. Of the majors, AUH still maintains that "UAE-ness" about itself (well atleast the UAE I grew up in). The charm back in the days was quite unique, something one can still gather in AUH's ambience. That charm, in itself was quite mind-blowing to the soul :) Hence, personally, I feel, there may not be an immediate need for the tallest, hugest, mind-blowing projects at Dubai's pace. Why the rush, I don't know.
This week Good Morning America & Robin Roberts was in the AUH on breast cancer awareness. Primary introduction to UAE was via the mega projects between AUH & DXB, like one competing with the other or something. Like most American news reporting, the whole thing felt quite shallow at the beginning - until she started interviewing ladies in AUH fighting breast cancer. The responses from these women, their thought process and zest for life, was quite substantive to the average American viewer, many of whom, generally & genuinely are interested to know of people & their genuine ways of thinking in the UAE - and perhaps not of super "Megas" projects or PR spins - because there is just so many "Megas" of every kind in the United States, hence not many give much thought of another "Mega" somewhere else - atleast not for the long term.
Oh? I've gone off topic - sorry
Why Abu Dhabi and not Dubai? Do you really think Timberlake knows they are two different places?
If you are from the states, they don't look like more than 2 cities sitting right next to another.
I know people in the US who commute two hours one way everyday due to distance not traffic.
My point is that culturally ignorant people and people who are not good with maps would assume---
Have it Abu Dhabi and anyone can drive there and see it. It is so close to Dubai and it's all the same country -- right?
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D. Blogger.
PS- Do I care that Timberlake is not coming to Dubai? Did I wait for Robby Williams Tickets? NO.
there is nothing fishy about it.
It is simply where your sponsors are based. If they would have found sponsors in Umm Al Quwain they would have hosted the gig there.
So what if in AUH?
It's you LE who smell fishy...
you mean if the baracuda had the money they could host timberlake ....even if theydid not do any rennovations ?
Money talked and no one decided to research the venue . Why ?Americans are bad with geography.
Great first point, dubai blogger, and not far off with your 2nd point. Since when is it "wrong" for money to talk, though? If money didn't talk, we would see a very different UAE today. :)
The significant point that the ignoramuses neglect to realise is the fact that Abu Dhabi is on a massive arts and cultural drive, investing BILLIONS of Dirhams in this field.
The Abu Dhabi Louvre, the Abu Dhabi Guggenheim, a HUGE Arts and Cultural centre (probably just slightly bigger than the DUCTAC on the Mall of the Emirates rooftop), and much, much more.
Oh yes...anybody heard that Formula 1 has signed with Abu Dhabi? Red Bull Flying Tournament was recently staged in Abu Dhabi. Another global event is the AD international golf championship.
Emirates Palace has already been hosting loads of international events, concerts etc such as the premiere of opera Aida .
Not to say that Dubai's cultural offering isn't totally amazing, given that the city has built itself up as one of the world's largest growing cities without having to rely on oil revenue. However, Abu Dhabi is much, much, much richer and in years to come, the arts and cultural offerings are going to be much more signigicant in comparison, in terms of international calibre as in the examples I have given above.
For more info:
http://www.tdic.ae/content/Home.About_Abu_Dhabi.aspx
Al Ain is developing a "wellness" destination announced here:
http://business.maktoob.com/News-20070423128791-Al_Qudra_Real_Estate_Debuts_Ain_Al_Faydah_project_at_Cityscape.aspx"
And Ajman...in case anyone didn't know...is going to see RADICAL developments in terms of real estate/cultural projecst in the next few years, accompanied by a major improvement in infrastructure.
Dubai has traditionally been a trading centre and its growth has impacted foreign investment to all other emirates (though this point does not apply so much to Abu Dhabi;) )...so expect to see much more "activity" accross the UAE in future. :)
really? thats a bit of a relief, actually :p
less traffic!
and its not about JT or his managers choosing a location. Its about the person who organized the concert, and whether they paid him enough! Very simple. We've organized a bunch of concerts for Massari, Shaggy and so on, and the artist really has nothing to do with where the concert is held.
There was a bidding war for Justin to come in to UAE.
Mubadala with IMG vs Mirage.
Guess who forked out the 3 mill usd?
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