Booking ‘A-list’ performers for Bahrain’s Grand Prix has been difficult because race dates were announced so late, revealed a top official. This year’s race is the third of 20 rounds of the 2017 FIA Formula 1 World Championship and in past seasons Bahrain has always been scheduled to host one of the first four races.
This means the country hosts the race weekend by April the latest, but only receives the fixed dates in December, said Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) chief executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Despite successfully booking international superstar Enrique Iglesias and Grammy-nominated superstar Steve Aoki for this weekend’s Formula One, Shaikh Salman said the process would be “a lot easier” if Bahrain receives its date early.
“The problem with the concerts is that we’re given our dates so late – we only find out when we’re hosting the race in December,” he told the GDN.
“I was in Australia (this year) trying to change that, trying to get them to give us an earlier date so we can get better artists, A-list artists.
“Honestly, that’s the biggest problem, because A-list artists get booked into their world tours and we can’t afford to force ourselves into the tour because it’s crazy prices.
“However, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobileto (FIA) were very open about trying to get our dates to us earlier.
“We’re so early in the calendar, whereas (Abu Dhabi) has all year to work on getting entertainment so they don’t have this issue.”
Taking to the stage on Friday are DJs Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, who are ranked number two on the DJ Top 100 list, as well as DJ MATTN, while Enrique Iglesias and Steve Aoki will have separate performances on Saturday.
Off-track entertainment such as an Ice Age world featuring dinosaurs, a haunted house and roaming performers will also be held throughout the three-day race weekend which will kick off on Friday at the BIC.
“For the entertainment side we’re bringing stuff in from all over the world, and we face challenges with shipment sometimes, because our timelines and theirs are totally different,” added Shaikh Salman.
“For instance, concert fencing – we need extra fencing and out of the blue they said it can’t be delivered on time, they said they’d deliver by Sunday, which obviously doesn’t work.
“It’s normal, though, and we’re used to it after 13 years of doing it – my team know what to do and they sort it out.”
This year’s entertainment “as a package deal” was bigger than ever before, according to Shaikh Salman who expected the haunted house to be a particular hit.
“Last year there wasn’t stuff for kids as much, just a basic children’s area, so this year we’ve done a lot,” he explained.
“This year’s dinosaur theme is also nice and they look amazing, so I look forward to the reaction. “There’s a vortex you walk through that takes you back in time.
“The interaction we do with the families is important, with parents and children, because this is what the children will remember. “I think the haunted house in particular is a scary, serious haunted house.
“I didn’t expect it to be like that. It’s terrifying and it’s going to make people scream.
“It’s really not for children – I think it’s for just above 12 years old because otherwise they’ll have nightmares and I don’t want that on my conscience.”
Tickets cost BD150 for the Main Grandstand, BD120 for the Batelco Grandstand, BD100 for the Turn One Grandstand, and BD60 apiece for the University Grandstands and Victory Grandstands.
Tickets can be purchased at the BIC stands in Bahrain City Centre and Seef Mall, online at www.bahraingp.com or by calling the BIC Hotline on 17450000.
