Arab hottie’s show dismays local audiences

Many among 3,000 audiences of the show featuring Omar Borkan Al Gala, who falsely rumored to have been deported from Saudi Arabia in April for “being too handsome,” expressed their disappointment after 2 hours waiting to see him under the heavy rain on September 13 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The starting time printed on the show’s tickets is 7pm, but the event titled “Ket Noi Uoc Mo” (Linking dreams) at the Military Zone 7 Stadium officially kicked off more than one hour later with the performances of local singers Van Mai Huong and Noo Phuoc Thinh.

Moreover, the show failed to answer the wonder of many people on what would the 25-year-old Arab man, who has been known for his gorgeous retouched photos on Internet, perform at the show when none of his talent for entertainment has been confirmed.

The organizer had earlier advertised that Omar would strut with local fans in a catwalk performance. Even a casting session titled “Walk with Omar” was held at 1pm on September 1 to find 40 young man and women to join Omar and professional models on the runway. However, the fashion performance, which was considered long-winded and characterless, only featured local models.

The Arab man finally appeared on stage at 9:05pm, showcased an ao dai on his hands, smiled at fans, said some greetings, walked a few steps to end the catwalk performance and left the place. All Omar’s “performance” lasted in around 10 minutes.

According to many people, other star guests of the show, the Luu Triplets, known for their roles in the blockbuster Pacific Rim, were more friendly than the Arab hottie but the organizer hadn’t pay enough attention to them.

The event also dismayed people with its negligent preparation with bad light and sounds system as well as the fact that it let VIP guests sitting under the rain, with the assistance of a number of staffs holding umbrella to cover them. Miss Vietnam 2008 Thuy Dung left the show after minutes sitting at VIP area.

Earlier, the arrival of Omar Borkan Al Gala has raised eyebrows of many locals who wonder why he was invited. Many even denied to call him handsome and stressed that it’s weird for him to be famous, since he’s not handsome and was not also deported for being “too handsome” as well.

Before the show, many black market tickets were also sold at the price of VND20,000 (US$1) but there seemed to be no buyer.

A sideline event, an auction on September 11, was also considered not very successful since almost all of Omar’s belongings were sold just a little bit higher than the starting price. Especially, the most important part of the event - a private dinner with Omar, which had a start price of VND20 million (US$943) - was bought by none other than Huyen Ny, emcee of the event, at a price US$50 higher.