There are many aspects that make Dubai truly unique, but if you’re in the business of selling tickets, one sticks out: the diversity of its population. More than 200 nationalities call the Emirate of Dubai home. They represent a wide range of musical and cultural tastes that need to be taken into account by anybody curating an entertainment program. Especially, if that program is staged at the city’s premier entertainment venue, Coca-Cola Arena. Located right in the heart of City Walk, with the Burj Khalifa glittering in the background, it is a true Dubai landmark.
If you scroll through the upcoming shows at the 17,000-capacity venue, there’s something for everybody: from Bollywood to Iranian to Russian-speaking, from C-pop to Khaliji to Western content, “and everything in-between,” according to general manager Mark Jan Kar, who says, that to accommodate this eclectic mix of event genres, “we have been very innovative in terms of production, enabling us to do multiple shows back-to-back.”
This diversity of content doesn’t just affect what’s on stage, but the entire operation of the building. “The clientele for a Southeast Asian show, for instance, has different taste buds than guests at an Arabic show,” Kar explains, “there’s alcoholic events versus non alcoholic events, the timings of shows differ, as does what is acceptable in terms of children attending, all the way through to the price points of tickets. If we, for example, undertake a Punjabi show, we create additional distance between the rows on the floor, so they can dance and celebrate. We have become subject matter experts on multiple nationalities, and I often spend 90% of my time on these regional shows, discussing Indian, and Arabic content, rather than necessarily Western content. And, I must say, that Arabic and Indian content is performing on par, if not better in some cases, than some of the bigger Western shows.”
The Arabic content at Coca-Cola Arena can be split into two tiers: the traditional Khaliji, which is immediately recognozable by the use of many native instruments, including the Rebab, Oud, or the Arabic bagpipe known as the Habban. But there’s tons of modern Arabic music as well, which may come from anywhere within the wider gulf region, including Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, and more. “The Arabic content as a whole makes up about 20% of our business. 40% is Southeast Asian, 30% Western. The remaining 10% is family entertainment,” Kar explains, adding that those dynamics are about to shift, as a sports franchise team will be playing its home games at Coca-Cola Arena starting in Q4. And while he couldn’t reveal the team at press time, he shared that this has been in the making since the arena opened five years ago. “As sports enters the building, probably the Southeast Asian content will slightly go down,” he says, adding, “we want to maintain a minimum of 30% in the Western space.”
The UAE work week used to be Sunday through Thursday until the end of 2021, when it got changed to Monday to Friday in order to align with the global economy. It has changed the way Kar’s team operates Coca-Cola Arena. “We’ve been working hard to convince promoters and talent that Sunday is an extension of the weekend,” he explains, “on a Saturday night, you’ve got parties, other major shows, and activities taking place. Sundays are traditionally a bit quieter. And since we’re all competing for the same wallets, it’s an opportunity. We have a large expatriate community working in retail, and hospitality here, and Sunday is their day off. It allows us to target those demographics that are working on Fridays and Saturdays, and convince them to come and enjoy shows on Sundays.
“And we can be very targeted, as we’re investing a lot of time and effort into gathering data and insights into the entertainment industry. Our staff includes an insights team, that directly reaches out to our patrons, and asks: What types of shows do you want? How was your f&b experience? What price do you think is reasonable? With that kind of information, we’re able to make better decisions. We listen to people,” he says, “guests and artists alike.”
Kar’s team works closely with fellow venue operators in the region, like Al Dana Amphitheater in Bahrain, or beyond, like Book My Show in India. It’s a proper circuit in the making. “One advantage both Dubai and Abu Dhabi have,” Kar concludes, “are international airlines connecting the world. So, if a band are on their way to Asia or Australia, there is a very good chance they fly Emirates – and stop in Dubai. So, why not add a date in?”
