The second Aspire Lake Festival will take spectators through a half-hour ‘magical journey,’ featuring more than 40 artists and experts for a showcase of theatrical performances and fireworks displays between March 23-24 at Aspire Park.
The festival, organised in partnership with Ooredoo, Qatar Airways, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy and Katara, forms part of Aspire Zone Foundation’s commitment to support Qatar’s tourism and entertainment sectors.
The festival returns this year after the huge success of the first edition, which was held as a trial-run to gauge people’s interest last November.
AZF noted that the entire show will be directed by French fireworks art wizard and director Christophe Berthonneau.
Some of Berthonneau’s earlier work was displayed at the closing ceremony of the 1998 FIFA World Cup France, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Athens 2004, Turin 2006 Winter Olympics, Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
He also played a part in the inauguration of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha in 2008.
“Qatar’s first-ever Aspire Lake Festival, which was held in November 2017, attracted more than 75,000 local and expatriate community members over three days. The event’s success has prompted AZF to turn the festival into an annual event on Qatar’s tourism and cultural agenda,” Festival organising committee chairperson Kholoud al-Hail said.
“As such, we decided to introduce another unique Lake Show this year. In 2018’s edition of the Festival, the artists will perform a magical story told through the art of fireworks,” she noted. “This event is testament to Aspire’s logistical capability to organising world-class sporting, entertainment and cultural events.”
She added that the first edition of the festival was a great learning experience, building on the feedback of the visitors, performers and organisers to ensure AZF hosts an even bigger and better event this time. “This year’s event will be an entirely new and unique experience for visitors. We extend our thanks to this year’s partners for their support in making this another memorable event for us and the people in Qatar,” al-Hail said.
AZF will set up food and beverage stalls for visitors attending the Aspire Park during the two days. The festival will run throughout the weekend starting at 8pm.
