Features

Stars Come Calling

by BTM

Wed, 05 September 2018

Stars Come Calling

Spring of Culture was launched in March 2006. The annual festival brings artists and performers from across the globe to our island. We devoted three pages of coverage to the first events and, since then, the scope of the festival has grown so much that it now takes up twice that space and runs over two months! In the same month BTM also highlighted Amwaj Islands, the up-and-coming new investment development.
In 2008, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa launched his 2030 Economic Vision, setting out a raft of development goals for the coming decades. That year’s BTM annual review and several of the subsequent interviews with members of the business elite examined the plans in greater detail. The year 2008 also saw the launch of the award-winning Bahrain World Trade Centre and, of course, we were there. 
The Kingdom was flying high in 2010 with the inaugural Bahrain International Airshow. Several years in the planning, the gala event saw millions of dollars-worth of deals signed and visitors were treated to stunning flying displays with great entertainment, all captured by BTM’s photographers.
In 2012 the visit of opera superstar Andrea Bocelli was a highlight of the Spring of Culture. And another long-standing project came to fruition with the opening of the stunning Bahrain National Theatre under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in November. With 1,001 seats, representing the tales of 1,001 Arabian Nights, it is one of the largest theatres in the Arab world. It has since hosted a raft of big-name acts from Placido Domingo to legendary composer Yanni and opera quartet Il Divo.
In April 2014, BTM reached its milestone 200th edition and, you guessed it, there was one heck of a  party. This was also the month that we marked 10 years of the Grand Prix with a major supplement and presence, as always, at the track.

#21 YEARS OF BTM