A comedy show at the Coca-Cola Arena presenting Filipino-American-comedian Jo Koy was cancelled on Saturday following the demise of Sheikh Khalifa on Friday due to prolonged illness.
The show was among the 11-day Dubai Comedy Festival events, which started on Thursday with a stand-up show by Canadian comic Russell Peters.
Coca Cola Arena posted on its official Instagram, “Tonight’s performance at Coca-Cola Arena ‘Jo Koy’ is cancelled. All tickets will be reimbursed to the same card used for the transaction.”
Another of Dubai Comedy Festival show presenting Indian comedian Vir Das that was set for Friday was also earlier postponed. The postponement is in order to an announcement by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, saying that there will be an official mourning period of around 40 days with flags to fly at half-staff and three days of closure of all ministries and official entities at the local and federal levels, as well as the private sector.
However, Dubai Comedy Festival added that other events that are scheduled, including Comedy Bizarre and The Laughter Factory, will continue as set from May 17.
A statement from festival organisers read, “Stay tuned for the latest schedule and the ticketing system for the postponed events. From all of us at The Dubai Comedy Festival, our condolences and prayers are with the family of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan during this hard time.”
Koy was set to come back to Coca-Cola Arena with his ‘Funny is Funny’ tour after acting at the platform in 2020. He is known for his impersonations and stand-up comedy, as well as his connections to Filipino culture.
Peters, who sold out completely his last show at the Coca-Cola Arena earlier this month, brought his Act Your Age World Tour to the new Dubai Media City venue, The Agenda, on Thursday, the opening night of the comedy festival.