National Basketball Association legend for second annual health and fitness weekend revealed
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dubai is buzzing with the announcement that yet another Los Angeles legend is heading to the UAE. The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) all-time leading scorer and six-time champion will be in the UAE from 28-31 October to lead the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Health & Fitness Weekend in support of diabetes awareness. The event is being organized by Maven Marketing and Events, an award-winning entertainment marketing and event management company based in Dubai. The announcement was made today at a press conference held at the Dubai Sports Council headquarters. Sarah Omolewu, Managing Partner of Maven Marketing and Events, and Hessa Al Kous, Sports Events Planning Manager at Dubai Sports Council were on the panel.
The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Health & Fitness weekend is an encore to the award-winning DMCC Kobe Bryant Health & Fitness Weekend held last September under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Social Development, Chairman of the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare. The series of high profile events commenced with a press conference where Bryant received a DMCC business license and culminated with a celebrity basketball game, which won best special event in May at the prestigious Middle East Event Awards 2014. Organizers were tight lipped on the series of events for this year’s health and fitness weekend, but did share that Abdul-Jabbar will be coaching a basketball skills clinic in addition to speaking engagements about the importance of health and fitness. Abdul-Jabbar is a successful businessman and avid collector of numismatic gold coins and other commodities and was recently featured on the cover of Intelligent Collector magazine. He has an interest in doing business in the region and organizers hinted that there may be an interesting business angle to this year’s event as well.
Sarah Omolewu, Managing Partner of Maven Marketing and Events stated, “After winning the award for best special event in the middle east at the prestigious MEES awards for our Kobe Bryant celebrity basketball game, the pressure is on to raise the bar even higher to make this year’s health & fitness weekend an even bigger success and we are geared up to embrace that challenge. We look forward to disclosing the details of this year’s electrifying series of events post Ramadan.”
According to Abu Dhabi based International College of London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC), the UAE ranks 9th in the world per capita with 20% of the entire adult population (including expats) living with diabetes. Diabetes mellitus constitutes 75 per cent of deaths among UAE nationals and 31 per cent among non-nationals. Globally, the diabetes rates are on the rise each year. The World Health Organization projects that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death worldwide in 2030.
The objective of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar health & fitness weekend is to increase awareness of the importance of health & fitness by encouraging the UAE community to lead active lifestyles. Abdul-Jabbar expressed his excitement about returning to the UAE yesterday on his social media pages stating “I’m looking forward to going to the United Arab Emirates this October for the ‘Kareem Abdul-Jabbar health and fitness weekend’ presented by @MavenMarketingandEvents, in support of diabetes awareness, #kareemfitnessuae”
Hessa Al Kous, Sports Events Planning Manager at Dubai Sports Council stated, “We are very excited to be working again with Maven Marketing and Events in delivering yet another successful event. The legacy of hosting these events is that we have seen tremendous growth in the interest and participation of basketball, which is a sport that is currently already quite popular within all areas of the communities of Dubai and the UAE.”
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Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a global icon that changed the game of professional basketball and went on to become a celebrated author, filmmaker, and ambassador of education. As one of the NBA’s all time greatest players, the 7-feet-2-inch Hall of Fame center, famous for his indefensible skyhook, dominated the NBA for 20 years amassing six NBA championships, 19 all-star team selections, and 38,387 points, making him the NBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer.
While attending UCLA, Abdul-Jabbar took the Shahada twice and converted to Islam, something that he says was a very deeply rooted spiritual decision. In 2012, the New York Times best-selling author was appointed to be the US Cultural Ambassador by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. He is currently a contributing columnist for Time Magazine and The Los Angeles & OC Register newspapers. He is filming his bio-pic for HBO set to release February 2015. Each year Kareem helps 22,000 school-children attend Camp Skyhook which gives kids a shot that cannot be blocked. The Los Angeles based camp incorporates a hands-on five day outdoor learning experience in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Learn more at www.campskyhook.org
Details of the events around the highly anticipated Kareem Abdul-Jabbar health & fitness weekend will be released post-Ramadan in September. Press contact – [email protected] or +971 55 560 1404.
Follow Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at www.facebook.com/KAJ and on twitter at @KAJ33
About Maven Marketing & Events www.mavenmarketingandevents.com
Maven Marketing & Events is an award-winning entertainment marketing, public relations and events company. We provide the logistical and tactical knowhow to redefine the role of entertainment marketing and public relations by developing turn-key experiential marketing solutions. Through a collaborative approach, Maven Marketing & Events helps clients translate marketing initiatives into tangible consumer experiences that enhance brand exposure. We develop focused, effective entertainment marketing campaigns to help you connect your brand to consumers more rapidly by raising awareness and brand loyalty through entertainment properties. We also utilise our industry knowledge and connections to secure the best celebrities for your marketing campaign or event.