Cirque du Soleil® will return to Dubai in 2009 with Alegría

Cirque du Soleil® will return to Dubai in 2009 with Alegría

Erika Lemay, Hand Balancing act (Centre) is joined by Robert Lee, Managing Director of Nakheel Investment Projects (R) and Milan Rokic, Vice-President of Marketing for Asia Pacific, Cirque du Soleil (L) flanked by two Old Bird characters (far left and far right) from the show Alegría at today's announcement at Ibn Batutta Mall.

• Cirque du Soleil, in partnership with Nakheel, will present Alegría™ under the 'all white Big Chapiteau' at Ibn Batutta Mall from March 5 - April 5, 2009

Dubai, UAE, 18 November 2008

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. 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 is 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 Alegría, which includes a breathtaking performance from artists from 17 countries and some of the most memorable musical moments from Cirque du Soleil's repertoire.

Alegría 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.

Erika Lemay from Cirque du Soleil's show Alegría performing the Hand Balancing act at today's announcement at Ibn Batutta Mall.

It is anticipated that Alegría 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 www.cirquedusoleil.ae. 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."

Alegría 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."

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, Alegría 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 per cent stake in Cirque du Soleil earlier this year.