DUBAI: Major concerts and sporting events in Gulf Arab states have been cancelled or postponed, and Saudi Arabia stepped up health screening measures as the coronavirus spreads in the region. Tourists wear protective face masks, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus, as they walk at the Grand Souq in old Dubai, United Arab Emirates March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike
There have been at least 2,476 cases of the virus in the Gulf region, mostly in Iran where 77 people have died. Cases have also been reported in other Middle East nations. In the United Arab Emirates, a tourism and business hub, this month’s electronic music Ultra festival at Abu Dhabi’s 25,000-capacity Du arena and K-pop concert Music Bank at Dubai’s 17,000-capacity Coca Cola Arena have been cancelled. Electronic group Major Lazer, whose members include renowned DJ Diplo, and DJ Afrojack were scheduled to perform at Ultra. Ultra organisers cited travel restrictions imposed by some countries and airlines due to the rapidly-spreading virus in its reasoning for cancelling the two day festival.
Music Bank organisers cited the spread of the epidemic in South Korea, which is the highest outside China, and elsewhere. Conferences, concerts and sporting events are a major draw-card for foreign visitors to the UAE, which has reported 21 cases of coronavirus. Dubai’s flagship international art fair “Art Dubai”, scheduled for this month, has been postponed. A women’s forum in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi was postponed while a yoga festival in Abu Dhabi and a Hindu Holi festival in Dubai were cancelled. The opening round of the 2020 World Triathlon Series scheduled in Abu Dhabi this weekend has been postponed.
American rapper and producer Russ will now perform in Dubai in November instead of March because of the virus. “I know, wild lol (laugh out loud) but outta my control,” he said on Twitter. Qatar has cancelled a defence exhibition and Bahrain postponed two oil and gas conferences from this month to the second half of the year. Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday that people entering the kingdom by land, including via the causeway linking the country with Bahrain, were being screened. Kuwait postponed the GCC Games, a regional multi-sport tournament, from April to December. It also closed its zoo and the Health Ministry instructed cafes to stop serving the shisha water pipe, state news agency KUNA reported on Tuesday.