MSU Dubai

As we were being escorted out of the Queen concert I started to laugh. Things had been going so well, and now we were surrounded by giant security guards. They walked us all the way out of the arena, making sure our cameras were off and tucked away. It was a perfect night.

This whole trip to Dubai has been interesting. And interesting in a sort of upside down way. It started, as these trips do, with long flights and distant lay-overs that are now hazy memories for me. Then it was hit the ground running, making sure all the TV gear is working, suits, ties and craziness.

I’m here in Dubai with Alberto Moreno, our videographer for MSUToday. Our goal is to capture enough stuff for several segments for the show and also create a half-hour program on MSU Dubai for the Big Ten Network (BTN).

The first thing that hit me in Dubai was the heat. Just stepping out of the air-conditioned airport was startling. And that was at 2:00a. I must have mumbled something about the heat. The driver said, “Oh it is nice. Very cool,” with a broad smile. I suppose it is cool compared to the summer months when it climbs to over 125-degrees.

I grabbed a few hours of sleep at the hotel and then it was back into a van for a long ride to the MSU Dubai Campus. We drove and I was surrounded by cranes and construction. It’s like the whole place is a giant work zone. And unlike a lot of places in the States like Phoenix and Vegas, this growth isn’t on the edges. It’s all over, spread wide, growing skyward. The sky is an important place here. They’re building the world’s tallest building. I’d tell you how tall, but no one knows. The builders are cagey about the final height because they don’t want someone to find out and plop a big flag pole on top of the second tallest building and steal the title or something. What’s funny is that people are already living and working in the building as it’s going up. The bottom floors are occupied, the dizzying upper reaches are open steel and empty windows. It must be weird to wake up, step outside your apartment, look up and think, “Hmmm…I wonder how tall it’s gonna be today?”

The MSU campus here in Dubai is pretty cool. It’s part of a cluster of buildings that make up the Dubai International Academic City or, DIAC. This complex sits out in what today looks like the middle of the desert, but Dubai is ever expanding. You can tell that, pretty soon, the campus is going to be have a lot of company.

I met people quickly and started getting shots of the campus. Everyone was very excited to have the ribbon-cutting and official dedication get underway. As the day rolled on and the heat rose, local dignitaries began to arrive. President Simon and some members of the Board of Trustees were swept along in a sea of local press photographers and flowing robes when it was time to cut the ribbon.

I, of course, was dutifully running around in the heat with my camera taking shots for…well…for this.

Later there were speeches full of gratitude and recognitions. Some of the local students stood up and sang “Shadows,” the MSU Alma Mater. I’ve never heard it sung with such a collection of accents. Very cool. It was a tremendous event and things lasted well into the dark night.

After that it’s been a blur of TV work and hot taxi rides and trying to tell the stories of MSU in Dubai. One of the guys I wanted to talk with was Tom Miles. He’s an alum who has worked here in Dubai for a few years. I had heard he worked at one of the big malls here or something. My information was a little sketchy.

Tom and I traded email and agreed to meet in the mall. He said he was involved with the Queen concert, but that we could come over and follow him around, ask him some questions. So we piled into a wee taxi with all our gear and headed out to Festival City. Now what I didn’t realize is that Festival City is a mall, but it’s an awfully nice mall with amazing stores. Dubai has become an international hub for shopping. There are no taxes here so truly expensive items come at a bit of a bargain. Festival City is a mall, but it’s also a huge complex with multi-star hotels, a vast selection of restaurants, a marina, heliports and several concert venues. And the other thing I didn’t realize is that Tom Miles pretty much runs the whole thing.

Tom met us at a coffee place (No, actually not a Starbuck’s) and started showing us around. I pointed out the strollers the mall provides, shaped like camels. “That was my idea,” he said with a smile. Turns out just about everything in there was his idea. He was the point man on getting this place together from the beginning. Everyone knows Tom here. He’s The Man. “You wanna go to the concert tonight? It’s supposed to be good.” “Can we get some shots of you in the venue and some shots of the band?” I asked. “Sure. Lemme make a call.” And he did. Pretty soon we had wrist bands and press passes and were being whisked into the outdoor arena. The day was warm but the night was perfect. We got some shots of Tom checking with security. Some shots of Tom shaking hands with about a million people. Shots of Tom in the VIP area. Tom had to go check in with some people and left us up in the rarified air of the high-rollers.

Al said, “Man, this is so cool. We’re at the Queen concert in Dubai!” I was feeling that too. It was surreal to be there.

“You can’t have that camera here!” It was a very upset man with a two-way and a British accent. “I’m sorry, what do you mean?” I asked. “You simply cannot have that camera anywhere in here. The band will go completely MAD!” He was now shouting. Before I realized it, six huge security guards in polo shirts that could barely contain them were around us. “YOU have to go. YOU HAVE TO GET THAT CAMERA OUT OF HERE!” He was screeching at us. Turns out there was a mis-communication between the band management and the folks at the arena. We, as press, were allowed, but video gear was absolutely forbidden.

So the six giant security guys flanked Al and me, two I front, two on the side, two in back, and walked us all the way through the crowds, through the concessions, past the lines of people waiting to get in, further and further from the happy VIPs, out into the street.

I was laughing about it when Tom showed up. “I leave you guys alone for five minutes…” He was laughing too.

So we dumped the gear in his office and headed back to the concert. He pulled some strings so we could catch the show, but no cameras.

Things get started late here in Dubai. It was after 10:00 when the band finally went on stage. We were pretty whipped from a long day of shooting in the heat, but it was pretty cool to hear the old songs. Paul Rodgers who used to be with Bad Company was handling the lead vocals for Freddy Mercury who sadly passed away years ago. It wasn’t quite the same, but Brian May can still amaze with the guitar and the songs sounded good. Even accompanied by thousands of singers with all sorts of accents.

They sounded especially good on a warm night in Dubai.