10 September 2021 www.bahrainthismonth.com interview MAKING EVENTS HAPPEN The founder of Mirage Promotions, Elissa Murtaza, is credited with having revolutionised the entertainment industry in Bahrain and the region. Here’s a look into her rise to success as written by Nadia Murtaza-Malt. There are several things you think when looking into Elissa Murtaza’s piercing blue eyes. Some people might see traces of an exciting, unusual and almost unimaginable life, but for me, I see the woman I know best - my mother. Mirage Promotions and Live Nation are the names of businesses that people have heard in passing over the last 30 years. For Elissa Murtaza, these words are her legacy. Elissa started her career in live entertainment in a marketing position at a Radio Station in Liverpool, which was home to The Beatles, when she found herself leaving a prestigious Art College in order to pursue her career. A young Elissa crossed paths with the likes of a very early U2 whilst working in Radio, and you could say, her fate in the music industry was set to sky rocket in the same way U2’s was destined to. On a hope and whim Elissa took a plunge moving to an island in the Middle East that, at the time, was unknown and exotic – Bahrain, leaving behind the established hustle and bustle of a music-centric Liverpool in 1980. Still new to the industry, Elissa started what was the beginning of an evolutionary story to Live Entertainment the day she met a London-based talent booker who took her under his wing. She found herself booking everything from comedians to Motown artists, introducing a whole new world of nightlife sub-culture to the island. A few years on, Elissa was making her mark on an untouched gap in the market, primarily in nightclubs which would evolve into something of a much grander scale. “I noticed that the market was eager to experience bigger bands and better production, that would mean taking the emphasis away from small venues who had budgetary limitations and were risk adverse. So, I had to educate myself ground up on how to become a commercial concert promoter,” says Elissa. “I realised I had to make a profit as well as produce an amazing concert,” she adds. That was when she established her own concert promoting and booking company - Mirage Promotions, in 1994 – with the ultimate aim of revolutionising commercial live entertainment in Bahrain and the region. The beginnings of Mirage Promotions were incomparable to its ultimate destiny. “After gradually undertaking smaller live concerts, we produced Status Quo at the Holiday Inn before finally opening up the country to a steady stream of teen idols starting with Boyzone,” she said, reflecting on the company’s beginnings. “That was to be the start of a whirlwind of sold-out nights with the stars of that time.” As many could testify, the excitement on the island was euphoric, as fans of all ages eagerly awaited the next announcement of who Mirage Promotions would present next; and Elissa always rose to the occasion. In many ways, it changed Bahrain forever. Once Elissa had a firm grasp of introducing live ticketed events to an otherwise untouched industry in the region, she set her sights on growing her humble brand and expanding to Dubai. “After a surge of investment and fast growth in Dubai, I noticed an opportunity and became the first concert promoter with two fully staffed offices, opening Mirage Promotions Dubai in 1997. This ultimately sent our potential up several gears and because of this profile we were able to undertake bigger events, in larger venues which in turn attracted A-list artists,” she explains.
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