Extreme sports expo will give visitors hands-on experience

The event will feature a host of international extreme sports pros and let visitors try their hands at an array of activities.

DUBAI // From skydiving to rock climbing, motocross, spearfishing and everything in between, the Spearo Expo 2014, the Middle East’s first extreme sports event, promises plenty for outdoor and extreme sports enthusiasts.

Starting tomorrow at the Skydive Dubai Palm Island Drop Zone, the three-day event will include hair-raising demonstrations such as an aerial paramotor show and quad bike stunts.

Visitors can learn first-hand from seasoned sports practitioners, as well as adventurer Adrian Hayes.

The former British Army officer is one of a handful of people to have completed the Three Poles Challenge, reaching three of the toughest places on Earth – the North and South poles, and the peak of Mount Everest.

He will be addressing audiences in a talk at 7.30pm tomorrow.

A day later, following the Guinness World Record attempt of freediving champion Branko Petrovic, visitors can hear from multiple-record freediver, Herbert Nitsch.

The Austrian nearly lost his life in June 2012 during an attempt to swim to a depth of 800 feet (244 metres) in a bid to improve upon his 700-feet record.

He will speak at 7pm on Friday.

A key part of the event is the opportunity for visitors to try out some of the sports for themselves.

“Our expo is not ‘come and look’, it is ‘come and try’,” said Zarir Saifuddin, owner of Spearo Freediving Magazine and the main organiser of the event.

Mr Saifuddin said the event targets adventure sports enthusiasts and those who have never tried but are curious.

“We are doing the expo because the popularity of extreme outdoor sports in the UAE has reached a point where it is no longer a niche,” he said.

Tickets cost Dh30 for the day and are available at the door.