RIGA - Hype is everywhere. You can be sure that the next significant sporting event, parliamentary election and new Hollywood film will be billed as "the biggest," "the best," "the most extraordinary," and, no doubt, "the most important ever in the history of mankind."
That's to be expected. After all, it is doubtful whether you would put many bums on seats for the new Spiderman III if you claimed that the film "isn't bad. You might as well give it a try if you are short of something to do on a rainy Tuesday evening."
After months of publicity and TV campaigns, Sensation White hits the Baltics on May 26. This huge spectacular is being heralded as "The world's leading dance event," and it is probably fair to conclude that in the case of Sensation White Riga, the purveyors of hype are not exaggerating its magnitude.
Expect to see more than thirteen thousand dance-crazed individuals, dressed entirely in white, dancing and partying the night away to nine hours of magnificent light shows, lasers and pyrotechnics accompanied by high quality and high-powered sound equipment.
The Baltic states will never have seen anything like this before, nor indeed will many of the foreign dance fans who are flying in from Scandinavia, Germany and beyond, especially for this exciting and unique event.
If ever there was a case of the proof being in the pudding then the popularity of Sensation White in the world's dance capital, Amsterdam, says it all: When tickets went on sale in March of this year for Sensation White Amster-dam, they sold out in just two hours.
After being an exclusively Dutch event for five years, Sensation White has now gone global. Currently 12 international gatherings are planned for 2007, with Riga hosting the first event of its kind in Eastern Europe.
The DJ list includes some of the planet's finest mix masters such as the undisputed king of dance diversity Tim Deluxe, along with Junior Jack and Kid Cream, German Trance masters Blank and Jones and legends in their own time Tom Novy and Marco V. Meanwhile, the show will kick off to the sounds and tunes supplied by local DJ Electricano.
As well as the main stage there is a Nautilus DE LUXE Club Zone, the Salamandra Chill-out Zone and the Houseworx VIP Zone.
As we went to press all standard tickets had been sold out, with only VIP and Deluxe tickets remaining.
So expect to see all the streets and pathways around the Riga Arena bathed in white for the last weekend of May as well as an unprecedented mass outbreak of happiness and brotherly/sisterly love consuming the Latvian capital.
And if you have missed out on the opportunity to experience the Sensation White Riga phenomenon this time around, fear not! With shows planned in the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Russia before the end of the year, the self-proclaimed world's leading dance event will very probably be coming to a capital city near you very soon. Better still, rumors persist that a follow-up event has already been given the green light by party organizers Jet Force in the Baltic states for late 2007.
Sensation White
May 26
Riga Arena
Tickets: www.bilesuserviss.lv
