ABU DHABI // Organisers of the after-race F1 concerts said safety concerns forced them to prevent hundreds of fans from entering the headline Rihanna show when the du Arena reached capacity on Sunday.
The much-anticipated 2016 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after-race concert drew an audience of 40,000, which is the capacity for the venue, said Flash Entertainment.
“For safety reasons, all main entrance gates at du Arena were closed at about 10.25pm,” said a Flash spokesperson. “This meant that some people were not able to attend the performance, which had already started.”
The concert had been scheduled to begin at 9pm, but did not get under way until about 9.40pm. A delay is not uncommon. Lionel Richie started on time on Saturday, but Pitbull emerged after 9.30pm on Thursday and The Chemical Brothers did not hit the stage until 9.40pm on Friday
Some Rihanna fans took to social media to express their irritation over lengthy and slow security queues and a large crowd waiting to enter the arena.
DH, a 47-year-old Australian who attended the concert with guests from overseas, described the experience as “awful”, especially after driving to Yas Island from Dubai.
“It was a shambles,” she said. “It took 45 minutes to get there in traffic only to be turned away.
“We were advised to go to a window at the stadium to get our wristbands. The windows closed their blinds on us and would not talk to us,” said DH. “We then went to the line where the security put up barriers and would not let anyone in. There was no PA system, no explanation, nothing.”
CB, another fan who was turned away, said that after nearly a decade staging the F1 after-race concerts, event organisers should “have all of this down perfectly by now”.
“What annoys me the most is that they treat us with contempt by failing to even simply communicate that the event is full and for HSE reasons the venue is closed,” said CB, suggesting organisers should have made an announcement through the PA system or the YasHub App to warn fans.
In a statement, a Flash Entertainment spokesperson said: “We are aware that approximately 500 fans were left disappointed, however, Flash Entertainment’s priority at every live event is the health, safety and well-being of fans, staff and artists.”
The after-race concerts are part of the benefits holders of race tickets receive, said the spokesman. “There are no tickets sold for the concerts, hence no refund structure or system in place for the concerts.
“The Rihanna concert was attended by 40,000 fans, which meant that the venue reached capacity. The main entrance gates of the du Arena were closed for safety reasons.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
* This story has been amended since it was first published.
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
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Zombieland: Double Tap
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Four out of five stars
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Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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Results
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Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
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Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
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Watch live
The National will broadcast live from the IMF on Friday October 13 at 7pm UAE time (3pm GMT) as our Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi moderates a panel on how technology can help growth in MENA.
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
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The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
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Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
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Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Championship play-offs, second legs:
Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0
(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)
Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')
Derby County 0
(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)
Final
Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
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The Africa Institute 101
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Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
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Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
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