LONDON: With summer temperatures soaring, the Arab world’s leading music streaming company, Anghami, on Wednesday announced a cool new indoor concert series to be held over the coming weeks in the UAE.
Suitably titled “Beat the Heat,” the seven-concert festival — staged in collaboration with the UAE’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing — runs throughout July and August and will showcase some of the best talent in the region, including Egyptian band Cairokee and trap artist Afroto.
“BEAT THE HEAT is about enriching music fans’ Summer with live performances from top Arab talent in a unique setup. It’s also a celebration of the region’s vibrant music culture and a stage for top trending artists on Anghami to go on stage, perform and interact with their audiences offline," Eddy Maroun, Co-Founder and CEO of Anghami told Arab News.
"Anghami's main purpose is to empower young Arab talent to create and connect with the world. BEAT THE HEAT does just that by giving Arab voices and creators a platform to make some noise."
“By launching BEAT THE HEAT in partnership with Dubai Tourism, our first live concert series since acquiring Spotlight Events, we’re one step closer to becoming a fully integrated entertainment platform and building our own unique category that other platforms can hardly replicate," he added.
"We’re also strengthening our visibility and keeping Anghami top of mind by reaching audiences offline, complementing our digital experiences."
Organized by Spotlight Events — Anghami’s newly acquired live event and concert arm — the festival is part of this year’s Dubai Summer Surprises, with all of the gigs held at the Sheikh Rashid Hall inside the Dubai World Trade Center.
The first gets underway on Saturday, and the series is set to feature performers from the worlds of alternative rap, Khaleeji pop and hip-hop, Filipino, North African, indie and mainstream alternative.
"BEAT THE HEAT is just the start of an exciting new chapter for Anghami as we unlock more synergies and opportunities between the physical and digital worlds for artists, fans, and brands, strengthening our position as an enabler in the entertainment field and provider of more than music streaming,” Maroun added.
Launched in 2012, Anghami was the first platform to digitize the region’s music and is keen to cement its market-leading position.
It has previously partnered with other platforms to stage events and boost its content library, and in April signed a deal with digital platform TOD to stream a selection of the latter’s beIN Sports content and entertainment programming.
Its acquisition of Spotlight Events is expected to help it further bridge the gap between the online and offline worlds.
