Dubai Heritage Vision general manager Johan Viljoen explains why Jumana Secret of the Desert is a pioneer for Dubailand and highlights valuable lessons to be learned for upcoming attractions operators in the desert destination.
Nestled within Dubai's sand dunes are Jumana Secret of the Desert, a spectacle combining the essence of traditional Arabia with striking special effects and modern technology. Drawing its influences from the little-known imagistics genre and a fairy-tale love story, Jumana is a captivating entertainment show that is the first of its kind in the UAE.
Due to enter its third season this year, the story behind Jumana's creation and development is as fascinating as the show itself. Part of the Al Sahra Desert Resort, which is being developed by Dubai Heritage Vision, it is the first of Dubailand's entertainment projects to be operational.
This means that those behind its development over the past few years have a wealth of knowledge invaluable to all those planning on opening leisure attractions within the destination.
Leisure Manager caught up with Dubai Heritage Vision general manager Johan M Viljoen - an opera singer turned communications expert who is responsible for managing Al Sahra - to find out how to overcome the challenge of desert operations and uncover the secrets of season three.
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Early challenges
South African-born Viljoen joined the Al Sahra project in April 2005, when it was at the initial building stages.
"A huge challenge from the outset was the environment. We're in the desert. And no matter how well you plan in the desert, when you live the reality it's different," says Viljoen.
"That reality confronted us sometimes with those curve balls that we simply did not anticipate," he recalls.
The most difficult part was to bring the project about on time, says Viljoen, especially as Al Sahra had committed to staging the first Jumana show to an exclusive audience in September 2006.
Building issues included sealing the 10-million litre capacity water basin in the amphitheatre, finding rock where they had anticipated sand, and ensuring constant supervision of the execution of the design.
"You have to anticipate what kind of evaporation you'll have from that basin and what kind of exposure to surfaces there will be -whatever is exposed to the summer sun gets scorched, and damage to assets influences the life cycle of our product," says Johan.
Paying attention to soil tests is also crucial, he says, warning that even though the desert looks like it is made up of sand, just half a metre down on the amphitheatre site they had found rock.
"All of a sudden timelines and budget go bust as you have to break rock, which means you have to bring in unbelievably heavy and expensive equipment," says Viljoen.
Tracking the weather is equally important, and Al Sahra now has a weather station to monitor conditions before each show.
This is because of the water screens and jets used during the show, the highest of which hits 80,000 metres. Viljoen estimates that this is two to three metres taller than the famous Bellagio geyser in Las Vegas.
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