• Home

Dubai music lovers sway to Jazz tunes

DUBAI - The first Philips Dubai International Jazz Festival (PDIJF) drew record crowds every day, despite sandstorm on the first day and rain on the second day.

Held over three days between January 29 and 31 at Dubai Media City's (DMC) Amphitheatre Park as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2003, the jazz festival was well attended by music lovers, belonging to all age groups and nationalities, reflecting the true nature of Dubai as a multi-cultural metropolitan city.

"PDIJF is established as part of the international Jazz scene. International artistes who visited us have expressed their willingness to come again and were amazed at the level of support and response during the festival," said Anthony Younes, MD, Chillout Productions (COP).

All the sponsors expressed great satisfaction with the arrangements and the level of organisation that went into making the festival a great success.

Both Philips and Visa were pleased with the set-up and the exposure they received through the festival and were looking forward to being involved in the next festival.

Apart from two main concert stages, there was a complimentary area for stands manned by the PDIJF's sponsors.

Concession stands, offering a variety of food and beverages, were set up by Hilton Jumeirah.

In addition to the main concerts and music recitals, there were impromptu jam sessions held every night at the Hilton Jumeirah, a sponsor of the PDIJF.

The Hilton provided accommodation for all the artistes and its venue, Pachanga, saw all the hard-core jazz lovers gather every night after the concerts.

"We could not have done the arrangements without the help and support of our sponsors. In particular, I would like to thank Mr Philips for lending the festival its name, Mr Saeed Al Nabouda of DSF for lending us his patronage, Mr Abdul Hamid Juma of DMC for providing the venue, Dubai Police for making the arrangements for the smooth flow of traffic and security, our partners Prisme International for the set up and logistics to organise the show and the artistes that made the commitment to travel to this part of the world," said Mr Younes.

• UAE