With one day to go before the largest-ever Summer in Abu Dhabi opens, organisers are putting the final touches to the 2010 festival’s attractive entertainment line-up.

The festival line-up includes great family activities, award-winning international acts, best-in-class edutainment and unbeatable ticket, hotel and attraction deals, a statement said.

Open from 4pm on June 24, the six-week Summer in Abu Dhabi 2010, organised by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), takes place in eight venues across the UAE capital and Al Ain – the first time it has reached out to the emirate’s Eastern Region heritage heartland.

Throughout Summer in Abu Dhabi, ADTA and its stakeholders are offering an expansive ‘one-for-one’ campaign which gets GCC travellers free air seats, complimentary room nights, meal deals, discounted attractions and free tours. More than 30 four and five star hotels in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain are taking part in the promotion, which is also open to UAE residents.

And the festival, aimed at attracting a 15 per cent visitor increase over last year, is set to break new ground as it seeks to attract more GCC visitors to the emirate and deliver greater benefits to its tourism sector.

“We have gone to great lengths to raise the bar for this year’s Summer in Abu Dhabi offering as we look to encourage visitors from the UAE, GCC and further afield to ‘get out into the great indoors’,” said Faisal Al Sheikh, events manager, ADTA.

“We have strengthened our overall entertainment and edutainment offerings across the board and across the emirate to Al Ain.”

The festival has its soft launch on June 23 with the debut performance of legendary Irish dancing theatrical ‘Lord of the Dance, the world’s highest grossing dance show. The brainchild of American-Irish dance sensation Michael Flately, the show has smashed box office records and performed sold-out shows to over 100 million people at theatres, arenas and stadiums in 67 countries.

In addition, ‘Fantasy on Ice’ - an original production that combines the mystifying world of magic illusion and the unique artistry of ice skating – also makes its international premiere at Summer in Abu Dhabi.

Rounding off the trio is New York’s award-winning ‘Big Apple Circus’, one of the world’s largest, which makes its Middle East debut at Abu Dhabi Hall from July 23 to August 3.

In addition to the headline shows, Adnec will also host a wealth of edutainment zones with activities for every age group.

This year, Summer in Abu Dhabi will spill out from its traditional Adnec home to six shopping centres - Abu Dhabi Mall, Marina Mall and Al Wahda Mall in Abu Dhabi, as well as Al Jimi Mall, Al Ain Mall and Bawadi Mall in Al Ain – where there’ll be exciting entertainment programmes throughout ‘Summer in Abu Dhabi.’ These include indigenous cultural performances, multi-dimensional entertainment experiences, ‘live’ cooking classes, competitions and workshops. Shops will back up the festivities with special offers and promotions.   

Summer in Abu Dhabi will run from June 24 to August 4.

For more information and for details about all the great ‘one-for-one’ offers during Summer in Abu Dhabi 2010, please log onto www.summerinabudhabi.com or call 800 555.-TradeArabia News Service