NBA superstar and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has ‘leaked’ the 2024-2025 Abu Dhabi events calendar sharing the link to a ‘private and confidential’ events season, which highlights dates for performances by Coldplay, Andrea Bocelli, Animenia, Saadiyat Nights, the MICHELIN Guide Food Festival, and several diverse heritage festivals.
The post, which reads, “Yo @IAmSteveHarvey, I just got the inside scoop! Can’t wait to see what’s coming — this lineup is gonna be LEGENDARY!” shares the “private and confidential” link and has already garnered 69,000 views, 79 likes, and 19 reposts, and 16 comments within less than 12 hours.
It is still unclear whether the ‘leak’ was orchestrated as part of an extended campaign by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), which has in the past collaborated with the NBA superstar, as well as US presenter and comedian Steve Harvey, and Emirati actor and producer Ahmed Al Jasmi to get the word out about the upcoming season of sports, culture, music, and entertainment events.
Simultaneously, DCT Abu Dhabi has also unveiled its ‘Passion is the Occasion’ campaign. This is fully integrated campaign that is being rolled out across billboards, radio, broadcast, digital, and social media channels.
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The first hero video in the campaign is led by Steve Harvey, offering glimpses of the lineup for the 2024-25 season, including Andrea Bocelli, the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024, the UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway MMA spectacle, as well as the return of Liwa Village, Liwa International Festival, and the Al Hosn Festival.
The Arabic iteration of the campaign led by Ahmed Al Jassmi offers further sneak-peeks of the Abu Dhabi Calendar, with events spanning from September 2024 to May 2025.
The creative concepts of the integrated campaign were led by Serviceplan Middle East. PR and communications for the campaign are being driven by Memac Ogilvy. Deja Vu was the official production house working on the campaigns. Media Spark and the in-house social team at DCT Abu Dhabi also supported the campaign.
In addition to Coldplay, the music and entertainment lineup also features the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards festival, hosted by Bollywood celebrity Shah Rukh Khan, as well as performances through the calendar period by Backstreet Boys, comedian Matt Rife, musician and composer A.R. Rahman, music icons Maroon 5, Muse, and Eminem, and the region’s first-ever Afterlife event, with top DJs headlining the Yasalam Official After-Party.
The campaign also highlights a score of cultural events, sporting events such as the NBA Abu Dhabi Games, and culinary adventures.
For those unaware of Shaquille O’Neil’s ongoing collaborations with the Department of Culture and Tourism, Shaq previously collaborated with DCT Abu Dhabi on campaign touring the UAE capital’s food scene and was featured attempting to sing in Arabic in video campaign for Yas Island.
