Dubai is set to gain its own edition of Untold, touted as the biggest festival the city has ever seen.

Launched in Romania in 2015, the 100,000-capacity event is one of the largest festivals in Europe and has seen performances from artists including Imagine Dragons, Robbie Williams, Major Lazer, J Balvin, The Script, Jason Derulo and Ellie Goulding.

DJs including David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki, The Chainsmokers, Axwell and Hardwell have also delivered sets at previous editions.

The Dubai iteration is expected to take place in February 2024, welcoming 70,000 people each night to the sprawling grounds of Expo City Dubai.

So far, superstar DJ Armin van Buuren is the only confirmed artist but organisers say the festival will see more than 100 acts – including stars from across pop, techno, K-pop and Arabic music – perform across more than five stages.

“Hosting events like Untold at Expo City Dubai is the perfect way to demonstrate the city’s capability to host mega-events”

Like the Romania event, held in the north-western city of Cluj-Napoca, Untold Dubai will be a family and cultural affair. Entrance will be open to all ages with plenty of non-musical activities also held on the Expo City Dubai site.

“Hosting events like Untold at Expo City Dubai is the perfect way to demonstrate the city’s capability to host mega-events, further reinforcing its position as an international events hub in line with the ambition of our visionary leadership to make Dubai the best city in the world to visit, live and work in,” says Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), told The National.

Festival co-founder Edy Chereji added: “Dubai is one of the top tourism destinations in the world. We have an amazing site over there and by working with our stakeholders we hope to create something that will be the next big icon for Dubai and bring more tourists to this great city”.

“By getting visitors travelling into Romania from Western Europe we showed that we can build our own global brand and that was part of the reason why we came to Dubai.”

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