Backstreet's back!

All tours I deliver at the museum are different, depending on who I am touring.
I always do my best adapting my choice of artworks to the information I have about the guests, the size of the group, their nationality, their age. Sometimes we know their profession and/or why they are in Abu Dhabi, anything helps.

This weekend I had a rather special tour - with two of the Backstreet Boys!
They came to with a small entourage for a tour of the museum. To introduce the narrative and the universality of the museum, I chose to present the Dancers in the Grand Vestibule - obviously!

I really enjoyed delivering this tour, because they were really invested and seemed genuinely interested in all the stories I shared. Sure, it is their job to be friendly and approachable, but I did feel a connection. Apart from the art engagements, we talked about our families (as we are all the same age), about different countries we have visited and quite a bit about Sweden! The Backstreet Boys spent a lot of time in Sweden in the late 90s, producing their music there, so they were very familiar with Stockholm and its surroundings.

Touring celebrities always cause a bit of commotion in the museum. This time so many of our visitors stopped us and asked for photos, and the guys entertained each and every request with a smile. I was truly impressed with their decency and patience. Never mind it is a part of their job, this was a private visit on their own time, and still they were completely accommodating to their fans.

I got my photo too of course! A tour to remember!

I got invited to join their concert the following evening, as their guests! Wooow!
I brought my work bestie, of course:

I was never a hardcore BSB-fan back in the day, but their music was obviously still a big part of my youth. They are the biggest boy band in the world after all!

The tickets for this concert had sold out in a record four hours, and the whole arena was full - all 18,000 seats! The atmosphere was electric, everyone was dancing and singing along - this whole concert experience was something else!

Thankful for a great weekend and a joyful walk down memory lane!