JEDDAH: On July 3, a replica of the Statue of Liberty, alongside one of Elvis Presley, the Las Vegas welcome sign and the Hollywood sign, appeared on the Jeddah Waterfront.
The installations were part of Jeddah Season, and a program within the festival called “Las Fallas,” taken from the Valencian festival to herald the arrival of spring, that will see the cultures of six nations celebrated.
The icons were installed just in time for July 4, the national “Independence Day” holiday when Americans celebrate the birth of the US. It also heralded the arrival of the US segment of the “Las Fallas” festivities.
As well as the installations, popular music and dancing were also showcased, with dance shows by troupes performing to songs by the likes of Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Elvis.
Acrobatic basketball
Following the dancing, a team of boys specializing in acrobatic basketball, the “Face Team,” performed, using trampolines to score baskets involving flips and tricks of increasing complexity.
Don’t believe me just watch #تمثال_الحريه pic.twitter.com/Cqn7uwLZh3
— yousif (@yousif_jr) July 3, 2019
HIGHLIGHTS
• The icons were installed just in time for July 4, the national ‘Independence Day’ holiday when Americans celebrate the birth of the US.
• As well as the installations, popular music and dancing were also showcased, with dance shows by troupes performing to songs by the likes of Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Elvis.
They interacted with the audience, even calling children up to participate on the stage, helping them to jump from the trampoline to the basket, and teaching them to spin basketballs on their fingers.
Balazs Doborhegyi, “Face Team” operations manager, told Arab News: “The audience here was amazing, they reacted to the performances and if the team asked them to clap or make noise, they gave us double.”
He jokingly added: “The weather is a bit humid for us though.”
