Festive Season in Elegant Style

Recognising that guests of refinement relish a hassle-free holiday where personalised attention to their needs is paramount, Baros Maldives presents the perfect choice, with this season’s holiday theme being “Enjoying Island Elegance.”

Gold and white are the colours chosen for this year’s festivities, to reflect the grandeur of the occasion and the purity of the season of new beginnings.

The Festive Season begins at Baros on Thursday 22 December 2016 and celebrations continue until Monday 2 January 2017. A Festive Season Diary will be available in every Villa for guests to plan their activities.

There will be memorable experiences including discovering Baros at sea with guided snorkelling tours, coral gardening, and dolphin-watching cruises, and enjoying Baros on land with nature walks, sandbank cocktails, champagne and wine tastings, gourmet and gala dinners and jazz under the stars. In addition, there will be escorted island exploration tours and a shopping visit to Malé. A special treat is the bliss of being pampered in the Spa with a seductive Elegant Island Harmony ritual.

There will also be a unique Maldivian experience for dinner in the Palm Garden on 25 December and a Countdown Party with a band and fireworks on the deck of the Lime infinity swimming pool on 31 December. For early risers on 1 January 2017, there is a grand New Year Day’s breakfast. Jazz and cool music under the stars are featured on some evenings while the Sheesha and Cigar Lounge is open every night.

Akon To Perform In Maldives This January

The Ministry of Tourism of the Maldives is organising a free concert in the capital city Malé for the 8th January with the acclaimed Senegalese-born and current US-based R&B and hip hop artist Akon.

The event was announced through a video message from Akon which was shown during the Tourist Arrival Countdown show held on New Year’s Eve where two Indian Bollywood musicians Salim – Sulaiman performed.

Salim - Sulaiman perfoming at National Football Stadium on New Year's Eve.
Salim – Sulaiman perfoming at National Football Stadium on New Year’s Eve. Photo credit: Haveeru

This is the second attempt by the four time grammy nominated artist to perform in the Maldives. The first attempt was in 2010 which was cancelled after the tickets were sold saying the technical assistance and security measures were not up to par.

The 2010 performance attempt was hugely opposed by the then Islamic Ministry and several religious groups. Speaking in response to public discord over two Indian musicians playing in the Maldives on New Year’s Eve and Akon’s performance scheduled for Thursday to the local daily newspaper Haveeru, Tourism Minister Adeeb said that foreign artists and musicians are invited to perform in the Maldives as a means to promote tourism and has nothing to do with religion and that they are simply a means to promote Maldives as a brand.

He also said “These shows are for promoting Maldives’ tourism. While the entire world has started to see Malé City as a lair that harbours members of the Islamic State or extremist militants, foreign artists performing here will show the world what the situation here is truly like. Maldives does not belong to the Islamic State.”

Pop/Dancehall/Reggae singer Sean Paul
Pop/Dancehall/Reggae singer Sean Paul

Akon’s announcement to perform in Maldives comes after Jamaican Grammy Award winning International star Sean Paul – who was supposed to perform during Tourism Arrival Countdown Show 2014 – cancelled at the last minute after a YouTube video was released threatening the artist with death if he performed in the Maldives.