Dubai: The Kobe Bryant Health and Fitness Weekend has become the latest obsession for the basketball star.
“Tickets are on sale now at kobefitnessuae.com,” Bryant posted on his facebook page.
“Looking forward to seeing my Dubai fans soon,” the American star added referring to the celebrity basketball game being held during the Kobe Bryant Health & Fitness Weekend presented by Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) at the end of this month.
The weekend is being held in support of diabetes awareness and his latest facebook post over the weekend had received 52,601 likes, 605 comments and was shared 1,869 times, making Dubai the buzz of the day on social media in anticipation of Bryant’s first-ever arrival in the region.
Organised by Maven Marketing & Events with Gulf News as one of the main sponsors, the LA Lakers star will conduct a clinic for select invited kids in Abu Dhabi on September 26 and follow it up with a celebrity Kobe Bryant team called ‘Team Black Mamba’ playing against the Real Madrid basketball legends at the American University of Dubai (AUD) on September 27.
The photograph Kobe posted on his personal web page and on FB shows him shooting a basket over Almas Tower, the tallest commercial tower in the Middle East and official DMCC headquarters.
Bryant’s trip has given his social media following a lot to tweet about as it is pioneering in a number of respects. It marks the first time the basketball star will be in the Middle East as well as the first celebrity basketball game to be played in this region.
Bryant, who supports a number of philanthropic initiatives, seems quite excited about his first trip to the UAE, putting the official event banner on the home page of his personal website. “Bryant’s support of the event has been remarkable,” said Sarah Omolewu, managing partner, Maven Marketing & Events.
“It is an honour for us all to have him lend his name to raise awareness for the importance of health and fitness in the region and diabetes,” she added.
Bryant has over 16 million fans, placing him in the top ten athletes worldwide on facebook in terms of fan following. He’s active on twitter and this year he’s embraced the newer social media platforms, Instagram and Vine. Two out of the three countries with the highest active Twitter user penetration rates are in the Middle East with the UAE ranking third in recent research on 31 markets.
The basketball star’s voice may be just what is needed to increase awareness of diabetes in the region. The disease is the fastest-growing debilitating disease in the world and 20 per cent of the UAE’s population lives with diabetes.
