Scene Set For Largest-Ever ’Summer In Abu Dhabi’

With one day to go before the largest-ever Summer in Abu Dhabi opens, organisers are putting the final touches to the 2010 festival’s awesome entertainment line-up which includes great family activities, award-winning international acts, best-in-class edutainment and unbeatable ticket, hotel and attraction deals.

Open from 4pm on Thursday 24th June, the six-week Summer in Abu Dhabi 2010, organised by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), takes in eight venues across the UAE capital and Al Ain – the first time it has reached out to the emirate’s Eastern Region heritage heartland.

Throughout Summer in Abu Dhabi, ADTA and its stakeholders are offering an expansive ‘one-for-one’ campaign which gets GCC travellers get free air seats, complimentary room nights, meal deals, discounted attractions and free tours. More than 30 four and five star hotels in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain are taking part in the promotion, which is also open to UAE residents. And the festival, aimed at attracting a 15 percent visitor increase over last year, is set to break new-ground as it seeks to attract more GCC visitors to the emirate and deliver greater benefits to its tourism sector.

“We have gone to great lengths to raise the bar for this year’s Summer in Abu Dhabi offering as we look to encourage visitors from the UAE, GCC and further afield to ‘get out into the great indoors’,” said Faisal Al Sheikh, Events Manager, ADTA. “We have strengthened our overall entertainment and edutainment offerings across the board and across the emirate to Al Ain. In addition, we have put in place our largest-ever stakeholder programme offering fantastic ‘one for one’ deals in hotels, restaurants and for our many attractions, ensuring Summer in Abu Dhabi is a very affordable and highly entertaining family excursion.”

The festival has its soft launch tonight (Wednesday) with the debut performance of legendary Irish dancing theatrical ‘Lord of the Dance, the world’s highest grossing dance show. The brainchild of American-Irish dance sensation Michael Flately, the show has smashed box office records and performed sold-out shows to over 100 million people at theatres, arenas and stadiums in 67 countries.It runs 23rd -26th June at the recently-launched Abu Dhabi Hall at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) - the Gulf’s largest indoor entertainment venue.

In addition, ‘Fantasy on Ice’ - an original production that combines the mystifying world of magic illusion and the unique artistry of ice skating – also makes its international premiere at Summer in Abu Dhabi. Specially tailored for Gulf audiences by the USA’s award-winning Steve Wheeler Productions, the one-hour show will run 4-15th July at ADNEC and feature first-of-their-kind routines and stunts.

Rounding off the trio is New York’s award-winning ‘Big Apple Circus’, one of the world’s largest, which makes its Middle East debut at Abu Dhabi Hall from 23rd July to 3rd August. Coming direct from the USA, the circus, which has been billed as “nothing short of spectacular” by New York’s acclaimed social website WhomYouKnow.com, will feature a stellar cast of international stars from Europe and Russia.

“With all that is going on, visitors are certainly not going to be short of something to do in the evenings this summer. From dance extravaganzas and hilarious comedy acts to precision skating and high-flying antics, there is something for everyone,” added Al Sheikh. In addition to the headline shows, ADNEC will also host a wealth of edutainment zones with activities for every age group.

The adventurous will head to Laser Zone where players will line up against each other in a game of frantic cat-and-mouse style tag in a safe, yet challenging specially-designed arena. ‘Bee Amazed’ Zone, inspired by the popular Japanese Game Show ‘Takeshi’s Castle’, will test strategic thinking and psycho-motor skills as would-be explorers try to navigate their way out of a challenging maze.

For Kids, there’s the Hello Music Zone - a multi-dimensional edutainment experience which is a unique mix of movie and live show. Its characters travel between the animated screen and live stage performances in a presentation of comedy, magic, music and mayhem. In ‘Dance-tricity’ there’s a huge floor that captures a dancer’s energy and converts it to electricity, which is used to power great music and wild lighting. Dancers can select from a range of music styles to see what groove results in the most juice – or they can dock their own iPods and DJ the space for themselves and friends. At Play Motion visitors will step into a world transformed into a magical playground of games and art using the latest entertainment technology. Sensors will capture elements of body movements and reflect them as virtual shadows which will interact with multimedia projections in real-time, drawing players into the virtual environment.

Marvel has also developed a new interactive show, ‘Marvel Heroes: Operation Green’ to teach children and families about the importance of eco-sensitivity and protecting the environment. In ‘Marvel Heroes: Operation Green’, Spiderman, Incredible Hulk, Ironman and even the Green Goblin will come together to teach audiences ways to conserve energy, recycle and live a green lifestyle. And for budding scientists, there’s the Mad Scientist Laboratory, where professors will conduct real-life experiments with fun and unpredictable results, bringing to life the wonder of science.

This year, Summer in Abu Dhabi will spill out from its traditional ADNEC home to six shopping centres - Abu Dhabi Mall, Marina Mall and Al Wahda Mall in Abu Dhabi, as well as Al Jimi Mall, Al Ain Mall and Bawadi Mall in Al Ain – where there’ll be exciting entertainment programmes throughout ‘Summer in Abu Dhabi.’ These include indigenous cultural performances, multi-dimensional entertainment experiences, ‘live’ cooking classes, competitions and workshops. Shops will back up the festivities with special offers and promotions.

Play Zone’s mall activities include Car Madness, where children will step into a pretend auto-shop equipped with all the tools needed to perform make-believe repairs to kid-size cars. In Tasty Zone, food will be transformed into exclusive art work. In the Junior Cooking School, budding chefs will design their own cupcakes under the careful supervision of top chefs, while masterchefs will stage live cooking demonstrations.

At the Cultural Display mall visitors will be entertained with stunning performances by traditional arts and dance troupes from 10 different countries including Mongolia, New Zealand, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Botswana, Mexico, the UAE, China, Malaysia and India. Abu Dhabi Municipality is also joining in the campaign planning a host of festivities in its popular Khalifa Park family destination.

For more information and for details about all the great ‘one-for-one’ offers during Summer in Abu Dhabi 2010, please log onto www.summerinabudhabi.com or call 800 555.

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