Delightful off-track acts

The Bahrain International Circuit will come alive during the 2014 Formula One weekend when German heavy metal band, Scorpions, put a sting into proceedings to make up for the loss of Avicii.

The late cancellation of the top DJ chart-topping star has come as a blow to organisers and fans and at the time of going to press the BIC said it was ‘studying a number of different options with regards to the F1 concert’.

Luckily, there is an array of off-track acts already in place aiming to delight the young and old alike over the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix race weekend.

Moving up the bill will be Saudi Arabian pop star Rabeh Saqer who appears on stage on Friday while on Saturday at 7.30pm the legendary Scorpions will take rockers back in time with some of their best hits.

Since the band’s inception, its musical style has ranged from hard rock to heavy metal and the act is best known for its 1980s rock anthem Rock You Like a Hurricane and many singles, such as No One Like You, Send Me an Angel, Still Loving You and Wind of Change became global hits.

Despite ongoing rumours of a breakup or retirement, guitarist Matthias Jabs said that the Scorpions, formed in 1965, would not be splitting up.

In 2013, the Scorpions played three MTV Unplugged concerts in the Greek capital of Athens and announced four more MTV Unplugged concerts in Germany in 2014. As a result they were nominated for two Echo Awards, regarded as Euro Grammy’s for their shows.

The current band members are Rudolf Schenker — rhythm and lead guitars and vocals, lead vocalist and guitarist Klaus Meine, Matthias Jabs on lead and rhythm guitars, James Kottak on drums and backing vocals and Paweł Mąciwoda on bass.

The Sakhir vending area is filled with spectacular activities and attractions such as main stage acts, roaming performers, an extreme high rope course, an F1 Game Zone and plenty of exciting children’s entertainment.

Younger children will be able to enjoy fun inside a massive ‘Island Fanta-Sea’ tent. The underwater-themed marque will feature plays, a green screen experience, stilt-walkers, clowns, face-painters, balloon artists, and more.

The featured classic tale of The Little Mermaid will take the audience on a journey under the sea with catchy songs and UV puppets, creating a visually-stunning performance.

One of the world’s premier green screen experience companies, Full Frame, will also be on hand.

Larger-than-life lobster stilt-walkers will also be walking around the kids’ tent, posing for pictures and interacting with the children. Star street dance teen act Nu Sxool will be putting on a show as well.

Pop The Balloon Man, a Bahrain Grand Prix veteran, will be another favourite for both kids and adults.

Popular children’s television show Shaun the Sheep will be stationed in his own special tent too at the Formula One Village vending area.

Shaun will be joined by other characters from the series including Bitzer, the Farmer and, of course, the Flock. There will also be several other fun activities inside the tent such as ‘the Championsheeps’ including Shirley’s Pie-athlon, Free Range, Farmyard Fling, Cabbage Keepie Uppie, Get Fit with the Flock, Bitzer’s Sack Race, Flock ’n’ roll and Sheep Shape.

Shirley’s Pie-athlon will see kids race a Shirley-shaped sheep hopper while trying not to drop the piece of cake they are carrying. In Free Range, children must lift chickens and see what they find underneath. If it’s a chick, they must be taken back to the safety of the henhouse; while if it’s an egg, it must be balanced on a wooden spoon and taken to the basket.

Flock ‘n’ Roll will see children work in teams to roll a giant Shirley around the obstacle course. Finally, Sheep Shape is a large clay modelling station where children can add to their growing farmyard scene.

The main stage acts will feature popular UK-based street dance crews Boadicea and Peridot, solo musician The Petebox, and MC Gil and DJ Tony, who will be keeping up the levels of excitement.

Meanwhile, roaming acts will carry on the party atmosphere in the vending area with talented musicians such as Spark! The LED Drummers, Cornalusa and Cigo – The One Man Band; skilled stilt-walkers The Dapper Chaps; dancers The Sarakasi Acrobats; and overall entertainers Sideshow Stevie and Art Prometheus, among others.

Spark! is a highly adaptable site-specific performance. The show combines high-impact drumming, dynamic choreography and beautiful lighting design whilst creating exciting audience interaction.

Cornalusa is a Portuguese ensemble that has, since 2006, participated in medieval events across Portugal as well as in Spain, France, Italy and Germany.

Cigo - The One Man Band plays all instruments such as the guitar, drums, harmonica, kazoo, bells, horns, and even sings.

The Dapper Chaps are two UK-based multi-skilled stilt-walkers, circus performers and entertainers. The Sarakasi Acrobats combine music and dance in their act. Formed in 1992, this group of acrobats is one of the most successful exports to come from the south coast of Mombasa, Kenya.

Art Prometheus is a group of entertainers who will be bringing the charm of theatre to their fans. Their shows combine live music, dancing, acrobatics, mime, clowns, high stilts and professional acting, creating beautiful art for all their viewers.

Gamers will love the interactive tent including gadgets, cars and race tracks galore. The F1 Game Zone will offer perfect photo-opportunities for fans on a replica Formula One podium as well as in a true-to-size F1 car.

State-of-the-art Formula One car simulators will also be on hand. Motoring fans will get to test their skills in an eight-lane slot car racing track with the BIC design, giving fans a chance to compete with others.

The Pit Stop Challenge will give people an opportunity to experience accurate demonstrations as to how to complete a pit stop and instructed on the roles of the pit crew. Using life-like compressed air drills, the audience will be recorded as they take on the challenge themselves.

The interactive Pit Wall and the Formula One training experience will also be part of the F1 Game Zone.

Those looking for a more physical challenge will love the obstacle course in the sky, known as the ‘High Rope Course’.

Attached to ropes, participants will have to keep their balance and work their way around the course.

BIC’s doors will officially open to the public at 11am from Friday through Sunday of the race weekend and will then begin closing its doors by 11pm.

As for the concerts, only race-goers with a three-day ticket will be able to attend free of charge.

Tickets range from BD150 for all three days at the Main Grandstand to BD60 for three days at the University and Victory Grandstands. Three-day tickets for the Batelco Grandstand are BD120 apiece while tickets for the Turn One Grandstand are BD100.

Those with Main Grandstand tickets will have a chance to win valuable electronic prizes as part of BIC’s ‘10 EVERY 10’ raffle promotion on Saturday and Sunday. Ten winners will emerge every 10 minutes during the one-hour qualifying session and also throughout the Grand Prix.

A total of 260 winners in all will be identified by their seat numbers, and they will be presented their prizes by a team of BIC staff.

Tickets can be purchased at the BIC stands in Bahrain City Centre and Seef Mall, online at www.bahraingp.com on the official BIC Facebook page or by calling the BIC Hotline on 17450000. Special discounts on tickets are available for children, senior citizens and those with special needs.

Children aged three to 12, can get tickets at 50 per cent off the usual price, while school students aged 13 to 17 can get a 25 per cent reduction. Further, senior citizens aged 60 and above and those with special needs can both purchase a ticket with a 25 per cent discount.

The drivers’ autograph session will be held in front of the Paddock Club entrance between 8pm and 9pm.

Fans interested in meeting their racing heroes should gather by 7.30pm at the F1 Village vending area in front of BIC’s Welcome Centre, next to the dhow.

They will then be taken to the autograph session’s location by a team of BIC staff on foot.

Fans are advised to make it to the meeting point as early as possible, as large crowds and long queues are expected.

All of Formula One’s top stars will be at the autograph signing, including Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg of Mercedes, Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen for McLaren, and Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas of Williams.

Also set to be meeting their fans are Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez of Force India, Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez of Sauber, Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso, Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson of Caterham, Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi of Marussia and Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado of Lotus.