Al Ahli Group & Nickelodeon Announce Partnership to Bring Top Kids' Entertainment Brand to Their World Class Theme Park in Dubai

Al Ahli Group & Nickelodeon Announce Partnership to Bring Top Kids' Entertainment Brand to Their World Class Theme Park in Dubai

NEW YORK and DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- United Arab Emirate-based Al Ahli Group (AAG), a leading UAE based multi-disciplined organization and Nickelodeon, the world's only multi-platform entertainment brand dedicated exclusively to kids, announced today a long term partnership that will add Nickelodeon and its hit properties to the giant Al Ahli Park development underway in Dubai. Several Nickelodeon entities will become part of the park, which will open in 2011, including: SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Starfish, Dora the Explorer, Diego, and Blue's Clues, among others. The AAG Park is a further commitment of AAG's unwavering support and appreciation of the vision set forth by HH Sheik. Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, by way of his global entertainment and hospitality driven expansion projects for Dubai, and the Emirates.

(Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070503/NYTH106 )

"AAG is so very proud to include Nickelodeon as a crown jewel in our park property. We have been in discussions for more than two and half years with the world's top intellectual properties in the entertainment world and look forward to this long-term partnership with Nickelodeon, the world's most widely distributed kids' network with proven global appeal. It has been a great experience working with our friends at Nickelodeon: Sarah Kirshbaum Levy, executive vice president of Nickelodeon Strategy & Operations; Howard Smith, senior vice president, Nickelodeon Recreation; and John Paul Geurts, creative director, Nickelodeon Recreation; and a truly world-class organization with an extremely talented and dedicated group of core executives," commented Mohammed Khammas, CEO of Al Ahli Group.

"We are very excited to partner with the Al Ahli Group to bring the Nickelodeon brand and our hit properties to one of the fastest growing travel destinations in the world. This is an exciting milestone in Nickelodeon's global expansion," said Sarah Kirshbaum Levy, executive vice president of Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group.

Howard Smith, senior vice president of Nickelodeon Recreation, added, "The Al Ahli Group Park promises to become an entertainment experience with tremendous family appeal, and we look forward to working together to entertain kids from around the globe. This is an exciting initiative, and we anticipate great success with Mohamed Khammas and the Al Ahli Group."

The Al Ahli Group, under the founding and continued leadership of its Chairman, Nasser Ali Khammas and driven by the unwavering commitment and creative dedication of the groups Chief Executive Officer, Mohammed Khammas, is now even further positioned to bring the region's first truly global theme park solidly with the world's top intellectual properties directly to the heart of the expanding Emirate. Nickelodeon joins Hollywood studio and animated publishing giant, Marvel Entertainment in what is rapidly becoming the hallmark entertainment destination, promising to take Dubai, and the theme park world, by storm.

The AAG park, is based in the new center of the hemisphere's tourism catalyst that is Dubai and the UAE. The Project will open in 2011 with a direct investment of over AED 3.8 billion, or US $1billion. New technologies and an unparalleled level of guest experiences will be the hallmark of the theme park, creating a one of a kind family oriented venue on a scale never before seen outside of North America.

In addition to securing the world's leading intellectual properties, AAG is working with some of best creative and operational companies in the entertainment field to create the Al Ahli Park.

Chimera, a specially formed partnership between Storyworks Entertainment and Dedica Group will spearhead the creative development and project management. Chimera is made up of a specially formed consortium of well known creative designers, storytellers and technologists from throughout the theme park, motion picture and theater industries specifically brought together for a series of major entertainment project developments for AAG. Chimera is led by Allen Yamashita and Martin Zurauskas and based in Santa Monica, California.

The Park Operations will be developed and delivered out of Orlando, Florida and headed by veteran theme park specialist, Steven R. Baker of the Baker Leisure Group (BLG). BLG is home to some of the most seasoned park operation specialists in the industry with a combined core experience of over 150 years. BLG lead economist and director, Doug Rutledge is on the ground in a permanent Dubai position spearheading the monumental operational plan.

About the Al Ahli Group

The Al Ahli Group established its first activity in late 1960's throughout its 39 years of operation. AAG has become one of the regions most dynamic, innovative and multi-disciplined business entities. The Al Ahli Group has been instrumental in steering the cement industry throughout the region to unprecedented levels of production and sales thereby playing a vital role in feeding the development engine of the Emirates. Other industries and services that the Al Ahli Group is involved in span 17 divisions and range from the largest plastic film manufacturing factory in the region, to printing and publishing, to an extensive transportation division, turnkey construction, engineering products, factories, their partnership with the Dubai Shopping Festival via the first ever Dubai Hot Air Balloon Festival imported from Albuquerque New Mexico to their latest 10 million sq. ft. real estate mix-use development within Dubailand containing the regions first ever factory-outlet stores in a premium mall setting, never before seen boutique hotels, office towers, lifestyle developments and themed restaurants and entertainment promenade with the US$1 billion Dubai Outlet City Project, (phase one mall opens summer of 2007 and is the first scheduled major development of its kind in the Dubailand development project). Earlier this year AAG trumped the region and the world by announcing the stunning acquisition of Universal Studio Park's top attraction property, Marvel Entertainment,

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon Recreation began in 1990 and since has grown to include a diverse range of complex and specialized business segments including hotel resorts, touring family theatricals and theme park attractions. The many Nickelodeon Recreation experiences entertain over 20 million guests with a wide variety of locations around the world. Nickelodeon Recreation includes a world class hotel resort business with its $200 million Nickelodeon hotel in Orlando, FL, as well as several top quality theatrical and touring shows for kids and their families including Dora the Explorer Live! and Go, Diego, Go Live!, which is currently traveling to approximately 80 markets in 2007. In the theme park world, Nickelodeon maintains several branded rides, attractions, live stage shows, costume characters, merchandising and food service are located at parks in North America, Australia, and Germany, and plans to open the first stand alone Nickelodeon theme park at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2008.

Nickelodeon, in its 28th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids in the US. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 92 million households and has been the number- one-rated basic cable network almost 12 consecutive years. Nickelodeon is distributed to more than 200 million homes across Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:and)(NYSE:VIA.B).

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Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Joanna Roses, Office, +1-212-846-7326, joanna.roses@nick.com,
or AnneMarie Kane, Mobile, +44-781-692-5486, Annemarie.kane@mtvn.com, both of
Nickelodeon Communications

Web site:

http://www.nick.com/

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