Tourism & Hospitality | Sunday 23 February, 2020 3:13 pm |

World-known Spanish singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias performed his first musical concert in AlUla and the first concert in the Kingdom during the weekend as a part of the activities of the Winter at Tantora Festival. The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) organises the event, where it hosts a group of Arab and international artists.

 

During the concert, which witnessed a massive presence of audiences from all over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the neighboring countries, the Spanish star presented a set of well-known songs, including "I'm A Freak", "Heartbeat", "Bailamos", "El Baño", "Takin' Back My Love", "Escape", and many others that he has been known for during his artistic career that started in 1995.

 

Enrique’s first album bore his name, all the songs on the album, which sold more than half a million copies in the first week, were in Spanish. This was considered a significant achievement for Enrique, as this was the first album in a non-English language to achieve these sales. Most of the songs were translated into Portuguese and Italian, the album won a Grammy in the Best Latin Pop category, and Enrique launched his second album Vivir in Spanish, as well, which put him among the top stars at that time in terms of sales. Enrique continued to release albums in several languages, including English, and went on tour to several countries around the world.

 

Enrique proved his worth in more than one genre of music and achieved unparalleled success when his songs were used in several movie soundtracks. He has also won many international awards: 16 Billboard Music Awards, 23 Billboard Awards for Latin Music, five American Music Awards, the Latin Grammy Award, and the award for the most successful Spanish artist of the decade during the Premios Ondas Awards in 2002. In addition to the awards above, he has received seven World Music Awards, and he won the MTV European Music Award in 2010. So far, Enrique has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling Spanish artists of all time

On the backdrop of the picturesque nature of AlUla, the concert took place at Maraya Concert Hall, which is the largest theatre constructed with mirrors in the world, it represents a modern architectural masterpiece and can accommodate about five-hundred guests with the addition of a high-quality opera theatre sound system. The festival also includes many other diverse activities in the local markets, winter garden, farms, and the old town.

 

Over the course of 12 weeks, the festival will present a variety of activities that merge Eastern and Western culture, embodying AlUla's heritage as a meeting point for different civilisations from around the world throughout history. 

 

Winter at Tantora Festival offers a wide range of diverse experiences that cater to all tastes from all walks of life. The festival will take place every weekend starting 19th December 2019, and running until the 7th March 2020. Guests this year will have the unique opportunity to visit the historical heritage sites before they are closed to the general public until October 2020. They will also be able to attend musical and artistic performances by some of the most respected artists in the Arab and international world.