The wait is over. The tears of anticipation are flowing. The boys are just out of arm’s reach.
We’re talking about One Direction’s first show in the Middle East. The foursome will be in town on April 4 at the Sevens Stadium to entertain a whopping 32,500 people, and we’re here to guide you through it. It might be your first time going to a show — or your first time at a show this big — so tabloid! has compiled a list of do’s and don’ts with the help of Thomas Ovesen, COO of Done Events (the organisers behind the gig), to ensure you have the best show ever.
Do:
- Carpool and drive in with friends. “The less cars on the road, the less queues to get into the venue,” says Ovesen.
- Make sure you bring some water. “Against what we normally do, we will allow each fan up to 500ml of water through the gate, so we’re not going to take water bottles off of fans — it’s very important that they keep hydrated.”
- Come after lunch. Doors open at 4 o’clock.
- Make a sign. Signs will be allowed into the venue.
- Have some spending money with you. That way, you can make sure you’re hydrated and that you can grab snacks and meals throughout the day. There will also be programmes and official band merchandise on sale.
Don’t:
- Be too aggressive. “For everyone to have an enjoyable event, don’t push, don’t shove, don’t run,” said Ovesen.
- Stand near the barriers if you’re too short. “We won’t allow fans that are one-and-a-half meters or smaller to be within five metres of the barrier, because we want to avoid any small fans getting squashed,” said Ovesen.
- Come too early. “We really don’t want to see parents and kids in the early morning somewhere in the desert, and exposing the kids to humidity, dust and heat for the whole day. We are planning to keep the parking area at the venue closed until noon on the day. We have an area where parents can wait for their kids. The queuing system will be so well-managed that no one should think that they’ll get a much, much better advantage with regards to their viewing point of the show by coming hours early.”
- Stand if you don’t want to. “In each of the ticket categories in the pits, we have a corresponding overflow area in the grandstands. If you’re not very tall and you want to be guaranteed a good view, or if you’re parents, and you don’t want the hustle and bustle of being on the pits, you can just move up to the overflow area and sit in an elevated area.”
- Forget to put your phones down. It might be tempting to photograph every moment of the show, but remember to just take it all in every once in a while — trust us, memories last longer without technology in the way.
