Six things One Direction will absolutely not be doing during their trip to Dubai
With just three days to go before their sell-out show in Dubai, One Direction fever is at an all-time high as we await the imminent arrival of the boys for the final show of the current leg of their On the Road Again tour. While we know the band are more than capable of delivering a rousing performance – even now that they are down to four members following the shock departure of Zayn Malik last week – we spoke to Thomas Ovesen, the chief executive of the promoter Done Events, about the things the lads won’t be getting up to during their stay.
No after-party
There is no official One Direction after-party planned, so don’t fall victim to any opportunistic promoters trying to lure you into their nightspot with the prospect of seeing Niall Horan spinning the decks. Besides, if that was to actually happen, it would be a rather surreal experience, with half of the fans barred from entering the venue due to being underage, while the other, older, half inside wouldn’t dare show their 1D love for fear of losing what’s left of their clubbing cred.
No meet and greets
It’s the rumour that refuses to die. Ever since tickets went on sale last year, there has been chatter that the boys, being the nice, friendly folk that they are, would indulge in a few meet and greets with their most devoted fans. Some of these rumours included mythical, Willy Wonka-style “golden tickets” that could apparently be obtained from secret industry sources at astronomical prices. Sadly, like Santa, or indeed, Willy Wonka, there was no such thing and, unlike Justin Bieber, One Direction will not be doing any meet and greets. “That’s not happening, I can assure you,” Ovesen says. “If any-one else is saying that, I would love to know so I can send my lawyers to them with a desist note because that is not correct.”
He said the boys want to rest up in Dubai “to deliver the best possible show”.
No sightseeing with Zayn Malik
The only plus side of Zayn Malik leaving the band before their Dubai debut was the fact we had nine days to adjust. OK, it’s not much of a silver lining, but spare a thought for the poor One Directioners in South Africa who found out about Malik’s treachery – sorry, I mean departure so that he could be a “normal 22-year-old” – only a day before 1D landed in the country. Judging from those South African shows, the boys wasted no time in moving forward and beginning a new chapter as a four-piece. Malik has been removed from the video montages, while Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson have picked up his share of the vocals.
No press conference
This one will elicit huge groans from the regional media. At present, One Direction will not be talking to journalists at any time during their Dubai stay. “They said on this tour they want to just focus on their performance,” Ovesen says. “You have to understand that on this tour they are on stage for nearly two hours and they want to finish this tour with a blast.”
No additional tickets
Take a deep breath, as this is going to hurt. While there is some history of UAE events declaring a sell-out, only to have hundreds of tickets mysteriously appear on the day of the show, Ovesen says he means it when he says there are no more tickets for this one. He also has a warning for those who might be tempted to try to get into the event illegally without a ticket. “No new tickets will be released into the market,” he says. “There will be lots of police around, CCTV and controls at the door – so whatever you are thinking of doing, it is simply not going to work.”