‘A World-Class Festival, Proudly Rooted In Abu Dhabi’: Talking Offlimits Premiere With Founder Sia Farr

Offlimits festival premiered at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Park, April 26, with a cross-genre lineup featuring Ed Sheeran, OneRepublic, Faithless, Kaiser Chiefs, Artbat and others.

The first edition had a capacity of 32,000. Offlimits was conceived “as a fully immersive, design-led experience, where the staging is as vital as the artists,” according to a press release. The architecture of the event – “dynamic, genre-fluid, visually spectacular” – was designed by Florian Wieder, the renowned stage architect whose work includes Eurovision, MTV VMAs, Adele in Munich, U2, Beyoncé and more.

Offlimits describes itself as “the first open-format music festival in the UAE,” and Pollstar reached out to the festival’s founder Sia Farr, founder and CEO of Theory Eleven Entertainment, to talk about the premiere.

Pollstar: What is meant by an open-format music festival exactly?
Sia Farr: Our goal was to develop a multi-genre music festival that features the most popular music styles in our market, taking inspiration from well-known events like Coachella, Glastonbury, and other grassroots festivals in established regions.

Can you talk about the company behind Offlimits, Theory Eleven?
Theory Eleven is the creator of the Offlimits Music Festival. With over 20 years of experience in the Middle East market and decades of expertise in world-class productions, our team has a strong track record in delivering top-tier live and family entertainment shows. Today, Theory Eleven stands as the largest privately owned company in the GCC’s and UAE’s commercial entertainment sector.

Who are some key partners involved in Offlimits?
As the owners of the festival, Theory Eleven collaborates with a select group of experienced suppliers to bring the event to life. Among the most notable is Wieder Design – particularly Florian – who led the stage design for the inaugural edition of Offlimits.

What makes Etihad Park a great location for this?
Etihad Park, a well-established venue on Yas Island and home to the F1 After-Race Concerts, offers the ideal blend of modern amenities and natural surroundings. Its unique atmosphere bridges the natural and contemporary worlds, while its robust infrastructure makes it perfectly suited to host large-scale events like Offlimits.

Anything else key about the premiere you’d like to share?
Offlimits was born from a clear vision: to create a timeless, immersive festival experience capable of evolving with the times. Its open-format concept allows the lineup to adapt to shifting market interests, while the production design is crafted to deliver a modern, impactful atmosphere – whether set in a festival field, stadium, or any venue with a unique story to tell.

Above all, the goal was to establish a world-class festival, proudly rooted in Abu Dhabi, with the potential to become a household name in the Middle East – on par with global icons like Coachella and Glastonbury.

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