The Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi is backing a new cultural initiative set to take shape next March, when Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan launches UNIFYD, an Indian music festival planned for Etihad Live on Yas Island. The inaugural event is scheduled for March 20 and is being produced by D’YAVOL Live and District in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi government department and Miral, the entity behind much of the island’s entertainment infrastructure.
That institutional involvement matters. It places the festival within the emirate’s official cultural programming rather than leaving it as a purely commercial venture. The partnership with Miral signals a coordinated effort to position Abu Dhabi as a venue for large-scale cultural events, and it comes as the capital continues to host internationally recognised entertainment properties on Yas Island.
Khan, whose stature in Indian cinema extends well beyond performance, will oversee the festival’s artistic direction and creative vision. He is not new to the emirate’s event calendar, having hosted the IIFA Awards on Yas Island in 2024. In a statement, he drew a line between his film work and the new project: “I’ve spent a lifetime telling stories on screen and watching them bring people together. Music has that same extraordinary power. The festival promises to be a true spectacle in terms of its scale, energy and grandeur.”
The one-day programme is designed to bring together more than 15 artists across several stages, with a focus on Indian music and culture. The first names announced include top Indian singers Arijit Singh, Karan Aujla and Sonu Nigam. Nigam is set to perform a special set that organisers describe as his first appearance at a music festival.
Meanwhile, the broader line-up revealed so far includes Jonita, Shalmali Kholgade, Patiala Mehfil, Simran Choudhary, Nooriyah, Curtain Blue, Tech Panda x Kenzani, Rusha & Blizza, Stick No Bills, BOH!B, Priyanka and Unnayanaa. Organisers say the programme spans Hindi film music, Punjabi music and other genres, with additional performers still to be announced.
The commercial structure behind the festival is anchored by D’YAVOL Live, whose co-founder Bunty Singh framed the event as a platform for Indian music’s international reach. “Indian music is already global,” he said. “UNIFYD gives that cultural force a festival platform that matches its scale, ambition and influence. Bringing together artists of this stature on the same day, in a line-up that has never existed before, is what makes the first edition so special.”
Beyond the debut, the organisers have stated an intention to expand UNIFYD to other cities and international markets after Abu Dhabi, making the March event effectively a test case for a larger touring property. How the festival performs in its first edition is likely to inform that expansion strategy, with the Abu Dhabi partners serving as launch collaborators for the format.
Details of how the public can attend have also been set. Tickets will be sold exclusively through the District app, with the general sale opening at 10.30am on October 20. Prices have not yet been revealed, meaning prospective attendees will learn the cost structure only when the sale begins.
The festival joins a growing roster of major entertainment events staged in Abu Dhabi, several of them centred on Yas Island and supported by the same institutional partners now attached to UNIFYD. For the Department of Culture and Tourism and Miral, the debut represents another step in a strategy of drawing large audiences through music and cultural programming, while for D’YAVOL Live and District it marks the first outing of a format they intend to grow internationally. Further coverage of the line-up and ticketing details is available via https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/music-stage/2026/10/19/shah-rukh-khan-to-launch-indian-music-festival-unifyd-in-abu-dhabi/