Dubai: SMTown Live World Tour VI in Dubai, the first ever K-Pop concert held at the Dubai Autism Arena, was a celebration of music and culture.
People of different nationalities came together: the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying with fans filling up the arena by as early as 5pm.
Girls screamed dizzy when asked about their favourite bands and brought posters to support the K-pop stars.
Sisters Paula, 26 and Mae Ann Manlangit, 24, were hysterical when asked about the show.
They got an opportunity to meet with one of their favourite bands backstage and told Gulf News: “They are so handsome… That’s why we are shaking!”
This was no ordinary concert: The crowd of mostly screaming millennials filled the hall many of them holding up laser lights. The regular standing tickets price was Dh375 (about $100).
K-Pop band Super Junior perform on stage. — Shreya Bhatia/Gulf News
Eighteen-year-old Varsha Maria said: “I am interested in Korean culture and it is nice that they set this up in the Middle East.”
13 bands
There were 13 bands that performed during the four-hour concert, including crowd favourites Exo, Super Junior, SHINee and Red Velvet.
All the bands performed on stage with enthusiasm, had back up dancers, lasers, fireworks and other audiovisual elements to accompany their acts.
Fans wait patiently for the show to start. — Shreya Bhatia/Gulf News
An extension to the main stage was raised during bits of the concert, which was quite unique.
After performing their respective songs, the bands engaged with the crowd, talked about Dubai and tried to speak a little Arabic, too.
For the last part of the show, all the bands came on stage and sang together. They wore white t-shirts and shook hands with the crowd, before gold and silver confetti simmered through the air, ending the night on a high, one that fans would not forget.
