Prominent European musicians will charm classical music fans during the first Al Ain Music Festival which opens at the Inter-Continental Hotel on Wednesday. The three-day festival is designed to promote classical music as well as the culturally rich city of Al Ain as a prime tourist destination.

It is organised by the Abu Dhabi Concert Committee in association with the Ministry of Information and Culture and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic. Zaki Nusseibeh, Advisor to the UAE Presidential Court and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Concert Committee, said he hoped it would be a successful festival, "where people will be able to enjoy music and Arabian culture in the right environment".

The event is expected to help promote cultural tourism in a city that has forts, archaeological sites, the desert and oases. Nusseibeh said the festival has generated considerable interest among fans of European classical music in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat and other parts of the Gulf.

For many years, classical musicians have been performing in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, indicating that UAE residents were interested in this kind of music. "We are working to make the festival an annual event with a number of new attractions in future," he said. Organisers are also thinking of including Arabic classical music.

The festival will feature four concerts by two well-known ensembles from Slovakia, a country famous for its classical music tradition. The ensembles include the Bratislava Wind Octet and the Istropolitana Quarteto.

The Bratislava Wind Octet comprises top soloists from the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Opera Orchestra and the National Theatre. The second group comprises a string quartet with an international reputation that regularly performs in major European festivals.

The first concert will be on Wednesday in the ballroom of the Inter-Continental Hotel. The second concert will be held on Thursday at Al Ain Fort and the audience will be taken on a guided tour of Al Ain Museum and Al Ain oasis.

The concluding concert will be on Friday in the hotel's ballroom and its audience will be taken on two guided tours to the Hili archaeological site and Al Ain Valley of Fossils.

The festival is linked to a hotel package (priced at Dh1,000 and Dh1,200) that includes two nights' accommodation, meals, access to the four concerts and the other activities such as the guided tours and free bus transport in Al Ain.