Food and beverage, merchandise sales set to be spectacularly easy for Cirque Du Soleil guests

With more than a hundred thousand guests expected through the inaugural season of Cirque du Soleil in the Middle East, both food and beverage and merchandise schemes have been carefully planned to enhance the entire experience of attending a Quidam performance.

For guests' convenience, a series of mini tents offering refreshments and Quidam memorabilia will surround the Grand Chapiteau, which houses the actual production. More than 25 terminals will be strategically dotted around the Cirque du Soleil 'city within a city' to meet demand for food and drinks as well as Quidam's unique gift items before and after the performance. With cash and credit capabilities, all of the terminals are linked via a back-end system which updates inventory in real-time to ensure availability of all consumables and merchandise.

"While the primary aim of Cirque du Soleil is to entertain, we've been contracted to create a retail system that enables people to eat, drink, and take home a piece of Quidam magic in a very user-friendly and convenient way. Cirque du Soleil is a world-class entertainment concept, and we needed to deliver a similarly flawless point-of-sale model to service guests' catering and merchandising needs," said Mr. D.G. Olive, project coordinator, MYCOM.

The sale of Cirque du Soleil memorabilia, including DVDs, clothing, and unique items such as juggling balls, have helped to extend the visibility of the brand globally. Given that Quidam is a highlight of the Dubai Shopping Festival as well as Cirque Du Soleil's first production in the Middle East, organizers anticipate considerable demand for gift items during the performance season.

"We have created a bespoke retail environment to cater for the heavy rush periods such as the Quidam intermission, with backup counter staff on standby as well as a redundancy solution and contingency plan should there be any system failure during the performance. Ultimately MYCOM is just excited to be a part of what will become the entertainment benchmark in the Middle East for 2007," Olive continued.

Quidam (pronounced "key-dam") will be performed in Cirque du Soleil's 2,500 seat air-conditioned Grand Chapiteau (big top), located on the grounds of Ibn Battuta Mall, from January 4, 2007. This remarkable show features 56 performers from 14 different countries in a unique blend of acrobatics, dance, and dramatic performance. The two-and-a-half hour show features world-class lighting, live music and an amazing array of costumes and special production effects.