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Saturday, November 14 - 2009

Cirque du Soleil to return to Dubai in 2009 with Alegria

  • United Arab Emirates: Wednesday, November 19 - 2008 at 09:20
  • PRESS RELEASE

Dubai will welcome back one the world's premier live entertainment productions early next year when the spectacular Cirque du Soleil returns to the city for a month-long engagement.

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  • One of Cirque du Soleil's performances; called 'fire'.
    One of Cirque du Soleil's performances; called 'fire'.
Nakheel, which is one of Dubai's leading master developers, is bringing Cirque du Soleil back to Dubai as a prelude to the resident show that Cirque Du Soleil are developing specifically for Dubai and which is scheduled to open in a purpose built 1,800 seat theatre on Palm Jumeirah in 2011.

Next year's month-long run will see Cirque du Soleil showcase it's highly acclaimed big top show Alegrķa, which includes a breathtaking performance from artists from 17 countries and some of the most memorable musical moments from Cirque du Soleil's repertoire.

Alegria will be held at Dubai's Ibn Battuta Mall from March 5 to April 5, 2009. Ibn Battuta Mall was also the venue for Quidam in 2007 which saw over 100,000 people attend the first ever performances by Cirque du Soleil in the Middle East. Quidam is widely regarded as one of the most successful live events staged in the region and similar interest is again expected when Cirque du Soleil returns for season two.

It is anticipated that Alegrķa will be one of the 'hottest tickets' in Dubai next year and organizers are encouraging people to purchase their tickets early. From today you can pre-register your interest at Cirque du Soleil's website. Information about ticket prices and where you can buy your tickets will be made available in early December.

Robert Lee, Managing Director of Nakheel Investment Projects, comments:
"We are delighted to be welcoming Cirque du Soleil back to Dubai with another breathtaking production after what was a tremendously successful opening season of Quidam in 2007."


"Alegria is a very powerful, fast-moving performance packed with incredible acrobatic performances and we are confident it will be a spectacular experience for guests that come along," added Lee.

The international cast of 55 acrobats, musicians, singers, clowns and characters will perform their talents over two hours in the all white Big Chapiteau which caters for 2,500 spectators. Beginning in Montreal, Canada, in 1994, Alegria has visited 65 cities across 17 countries and has seen over 10 million guests enjoy the show.

Daniel Lamarre, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cirque du Soleil, said:
"It is a great honour for us to be back in the Middle East and in Dubai. It is especially exciting as we look forward to having a permanent home on The Palm Jumeirah from 2011. The audiences in Dubai were amazing when we visited last year."


The return of Cirque du Soleil follows a partnership struck last year between Nakheel and Cirque du Soleil to develop a permanent show on Palm Jumeirah beginning in 2011 and is expected to run over a 15-year period. This was followed by an announcement that saw Istithmar World, the investment arm of Dubai World, and Nakheel acquired a 20% stake in Cirque du Soleil earlier this year.
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Notes and media contacts

About Nakheel:

Nakheel is one of the world's largest privately held real estate developers, and a key player in realising the vision of Dubai for the 21st century: creating a world class destination for living, business and tourism.

Nakheel is developing an iconic portfolio of innovative landmark projects in Dubai, and now in key markets around the globe, across a range of sectors - residential, commercial, hotels, retail, and leisure. Nakheel's projects are conservatively estimated to be worth $80bn. Upon completion, Nakheel's waterfront projects will have added more than 1,000km of shoreline to Dubai's coastline.

Nakheel's Dubai portfolio includes Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali, Palm Deira, The World, Waterfront, The Universe, Nakheel Harbour & Tower, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Heights, The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Ibn Battuta Mall, Al Furjan, International City and Dragon Mart.

Nakheel is a key entity within Dubai World. Dubai World is one of the world's largest holding companies and supervises a portfolio of businesses and projects for the Dubai Government across five continents and more than 100 countries.

About Cirque du Soleil:

From a group of 20 street performers at its beginnings in 1984, Cirque du Soleil is a major Quebec-based organization providing high-quality artistic entertainment. The company has almost 4,000 employees from over 40 different countries, including 1,000 artists. Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to close to 80 million spectators in over 200 cities on five continents. In 2008, Cirque du Soleil will present 18 shows simultaneously throughout the world. The company has received such prestigious awards as the Emmy, Drama Desk, Bambi, ACE, Gemeaux, Felix, and Rose d'Or de Montreux. Cirque du Soleil International Headquarters are in Montreal, Canada.

Fast Facts about Alegria:

- Two of the current artists belong to the original cast, having performed in over 54,000 shows.

- The oldest artist is 67, and the youngest is 13.

- Approximately 500 balls of knitting yarn, 1,094 yards of braid, 1,586 yards of lace, 22 pounds of glitter and 2,515 yards of silk jersey are used for the production of the costumes.

- A 1,000 buttons and jewels are used for the two singers' costumes alone!

- More than 1,000 springs hold up the Power Track trampoline ... end to end that's 105 meters.

- Over 10,000 kilos of "snow" have been used in the "Storm" act.

- Alegria travels with a 'village on wheels' that covers an area of 20 000 m² and is completely self-sufficient for power, water and all essential services. The village includes various offices, a box office, a kitchen and even a school.

Press contact:

Becki Willis
Account executive
Four Communications Group
Office 707, Tower A
Business Central Towers
Dubai Media City
PO Box 502099
Dubai , UAE
T. +971 4365 8397
F. +971 4362 5358

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