Bahrain International Circuit hitting the bullseye with diverse event strategy

Watching Luke Littler hit a nine-dart finish or competing in an esport tournament at Comic Con are not two activities you would usually associate with the Middle East – but the team at Bahrain International Circuit have been looking to change that in recent years.

The circuit celebrated two decades of hosting Formula 1 last year but has been keen to add more offerings when motorsport is not in town.

The Bahrain Darts Masters was one such event, a round of the World Series of Darts which saw Littler hit a televised nine-dart finish and claim the title in 2024.

Bahrain Comic Con has also been wildly popular and last year’s celebrity appearances varied from former Chelsea and England football captain John Terry to professional wrestler Paul Wight – better known in his time in the WWE as the ‘Big Show’.

“In terms of diversification, we want to see what works, obviously, financially, it had to make sense,” Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) CE Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al-Khalifa told the Autosport Business Exchange: London.

“This is the third year running (of hosting the darts). Last year, Luke had his nine-darter in Bahrain, which was a big thing.

“To me, the players hitting a 180 and seeing the passion of the fans with their 180 signs was something really compelling. I wanted to see if it would work in Bahrain. It was a great surprise to see the passion of the fans and even that people showed up in fancy dress the first year!”

The key to bringing new events to the circuit is to make use of the existing facilities that are readily available as a F1 grand prix host.

“We have a lot of infrastructure, obviously, in a Formula 1 racetrack,” explained Sheikh Salman.

“Comic Con, for example, the paddock suites, all six suites are part of that gaming events. The media centre, you’ve got 300 TVs. Everything is set up for them. So we do our gaming events there.

“In 2024 we had 424 events, 119 were non-motorsports events. Obviously, 424 events in eight months, because three months is so hot you can’t do much in Bahrain.

“The plan is to utilise the venue in a way for different events. The dome tent is where we have it (the darts). We sold out this year, about 1,500 – a lot of passionate fans and it was a fun event.

“ITV alone, I think, (viewers) for this event, was around 1.9 million. So we do get the exposure. We do get all of that.

“It’s about finding these events that you can balance with our motorsport events.”