Look, The Who’s coming for F1 after-race concert

Flash Entertainment revealed on Tuesday that The Who will perform in Abu Dhabi, closing the After Race Concerts on Yas Island during the F1 Grand Prix on November 21-23.

One of the most iconic rock bands of all times, The Who will make its Middle East debut in Abu Dhab, which is also the band’s first concert outside the UK and Ireland in their tour titled Who Hits 50, marking the band’s 50th anniversary.

The Who concert is part of Yasalam, the entertainment programme put together by Flash Entertainment leading up to Etihad F1 Grand Prix.

“Yasalam is a celebration that offers the UAE an incredible line-up of city-wide live entertainment and this year is no exception. Our ambition is to leave lasting memories for a lifetime with a programme that the entire community and visitors in the Capital can really look forward to,” said John Lickrish, CEO of Flash Entertainment. Every night during the three-day F1 event, there will be a different concert on Yas Island’s du Arena, only opened to those who have race tickets, which don’t come cheap.

As in previous years, this policy is much criticised by the public, with plenty of race goers not interested in the concerts and plenty of people wanting to see the concerts, but not keen on the race. “I go to F1 every year. When it first started, in 2009, the after race concerts were pretty good, with some great bands performing, but in the past few years, the choice of musicians was worse and worse, so I usually give away my concert pass to other people,” said Salem Al Ali, Emirati resident of Abu Dhabi.

“This year is going to be different. I love The Who! Already I have friends asking me if I want to sell my pass for the concert, but this time I’m going to go. For the other two nights, though, I’m willing to give away the passes,” he told Khaleej Times. Before The Who on November 23, the after race concerts will see Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren on stage on November 22 and Pharrell Williams on November 21. Before the practice, qualification and actual race, on November 20, Flash is organising a concert of Arab singers including Tamer Hosni, Carole Samaha, Fayez Al Saeed and Mohammed Assaf.

Already started in September, Yasalam has plenty of other concerts and fun lined up for Abu Dhabi. Beats On The Beach returns in November with three days of concerts on Abu Dhabi Corniche, free to attend, featuring Emirati, Arabic, Indian and Filipino bands.

On September 7, the Get Driver Fit campaign was launched with free, public classes and a newly developed 10-week fitness challenge, culminating in a purpose-built obstacle course on Lagoon Beach on the Corniche. Old shipping containers will be brought on the beach to be transformed into art pieces using graffiti in the Urban Art Zone, and the race weekend will kick off on the Corniche with a carnival-styled parade with marching bands and costumes inspired by the F1 race and its world-wide host cities.

Full programme details and public competitions are on Yasalam’s website, www.yasalam.ae.

silvia@khaleejtimes.com