ABU DHABI If you have driven past Abu Dhabi Corniche lately, you couldn’t have missed the mammoth structure rising out of the water.
If you didn’t know, that’s the Skyline Stage taking shape to host a slew of live concerts during the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) stopover later this month.
The engineering feat will create a 400 square metre stage built over the water.
A team of 11 commercial divers are hard at work on the project with two rescue divers and a commercial rescue team on hand.
“The Skyline Stage will be an incredible venue for our live concerts happening throughout the three-week Stopover,” said Mohammad Al Zaabi, from Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), which is behind the emirate’s VOR campaign.
Destination Village
The Stopover begins on December 12 with the opening of the purpose-built Destination Village on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche Breakwater.
It will feature three weeks of sailing action, water sports, entertainment and family fun. Over 175,000 visitors are expected to attend. The celebrations open with the Arabian debut of BBC World’s ‘Blue Planet in Concert Live’ accompanied by the 75-piece National Symphony Orchestra, Abu Dhabi, led by celebrity guest conductor George Fenton. Azzam will sail on to Sanya, China, after the stopover.
The on-water action begins when the hardy VOR fleet of 65-foot racing yachts arrive in Abu Dhabi in mid-December following a gruelling 6,000-nautical mile journey from Cape Town. Public viewing platforms in the Destination Village will enable visitors to welcome the boats and meet the crews, including Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, the emirate’s own VOR contender.
Azzam, the Volvo 65 yacht of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing bearing the symbol of a falcon, will make a stopover at the emirate’s Volvo Ocean Race on January 3, with its sailors being accorded a grand welcome by the real birds of prey.
