RIYADH: The Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil have more shows in the pipeline for Saudi Arabia after three well-received productions in the Kingdom.
Daniel Lamarre, president and chief executive officer of Cirque du Soleil, told Arab News that plans to bring more shows to the Kingdom are in the works after three successful undertakings. The first show was made exclusively for Saudi Arabia’s 88th national day in 2018, followed by the “Bazzar” production tour in 2019 and a return for the company at this year’s Riyadh Season.
The world-renowned circus of acrobats dazzled spectators on its opening night on Wednesday, with 46 performers from more than 20 nationalities in the company honoring the great Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi. “There is a ten in all of us,” runs the show’s tagline.
Few of the Paris Saint-Germain player’s peers can boast a spectacle like this.
Entitled Messi10, it captivates the audience with acrobatics, trampolines, diabolos, vertical ropes and lion dances. It narrates the story of Messi’s struggle to stardom and presents his legendary goals. A stout referee is cast in a jester role, bringing a comical touch.
“It’s massive, I didn’t expect it to be so big!” said Danae Knight, a British nurse at the Equine Hospital in Riyadh. “Saudi Arabia really puts on a show, I’ve always wanted to go see Cirque du Soleil and I was lucky enough to be in this beautiful country and be able to come.”
“We don’t have anything like that in England. It was amazing, it was completely mind-blowing, it was wonderful,” she said.
“The show was absolutely fantastic, the whole choreography, the music and how it all came together to tell us a story,” said Stewart Hassall, British auctioneer and race commentator at the Saudi Arabia Jockey Club.
“I was very impressed. It exceeded my expectations,” he said.
The audience sits on both sides of the stage like a crowd around a football pitch, enabling them to visually and physically feel the emotion and madness of the world of football.
Sony reportedly spent months searching for the right music that would bring Cirque du Soleil Messi10 to life.
The show premiered at Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona in 2019, followed by a world tour that began in 2020.
Messi10 is laid on by the Ministry of Culture and is located in the Riyadh Boulevard Arena, one of the many areas of the 900,000 square-meter Riyadh Boulevard City.
The two-hour show (which includes a 25-minute interval) is on Monday to Saturday at 8 p.m., except Thursday and Friday, when there two shows at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Tickets can be found on the Riyadh Season mobile application or website, with prices starting at SAR115 ($30.66) and going up to SAR800.
Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season 2021 kicked off on Oct. 20 in the Kingdom’s capital with an opening parade attended by more than 750,000 people.
