ESPN X Games Dubai 2005

PepsiCo Joins With ESPN to Bring X Games to Dubai December 7-9, 2005

ESPN, Inc., PepsiCo and Dubai Tourism announced today the debut of "ESPN X Games Dubai 2005 presented by Mountain Dew" to be held in the United Arab Emirates, with an exhibition featuring the world's top action sports athletes. Performances will be held on the vert ramp with Aggressive In-line Skate, BMX, Skateboard and on Moto X ramps with the world's leading riders.

ESPN X Games Dubai is scheduled to be held December 7-9, 2005, with Dubai Creek Park, the second largest park in Dubai, serving as the venue. Admission to ESPN X Games Dubai is free. There is a small fee to enter Dubai Creek Park.

Together with the presenting sponsor PepsiCo and it's Mountain Dew brand, along with sponsors Dodge and Playstation, the first-ever ESPN X Games Dubai will attract world-class athletes from all over the globe.

World champions in skateboarding, in-line skating, BMX and Moto X will represent their respective countries spanning the globe from the United States to Brazil to Australia. Two of Brazil's own world champions Sandro Dias (Skateboard) and Fabiola da Silva (Aggressive In-line Skate), England's Jamie Bestwick (BMX) and Simon Tabron (BMX), and the United States' Chuck Carothers (Moto X) and Jesse Olson (Moto X) are just a few of the names that will be highlighted at ESPN X Games Dubai.

"We are thrilled to deliver the excitement of the X Games to Dubai," said Jack Wienert, X Games Executive Director. "Through our continued relationship with PepsiCo and Mountain Dew, we will introduce the world's premier action sports event to a new market that has a growing action sports community."

Added Farhan Hasan, Marketing Manager, PepsiCo International:  "We at PepsiCo are very excited to extend our ten-year-old partnership with ESPN in the U.S. now to the Middle East. We continue to strive to bring new platforms for growth and action sports is one big area of focus for us. We hope to provide our consumers in the Middle East with a spectacular action sports event and programming."

ESPN's regional network Orbit-ESPN will join with local broadcaster MBC to televise ESPN X Games Dubai throughout the Gulf, while ESPN International networks will present the event to more than 100 countries and territories worldwide.

"We're pleased that Orbit-ESPN will showcase ESPN X Games Dubai to action sports fans throughout the region," said Lynne Frank, managing director, Europe, Middle East, Africa, ESPN International.  "The X Games has been a programming staple on our Orbit-ESPN network for several years and has developed a strong following throughout the region." 

ESPN will team up with Orbit Music Now and Virgin Megastores by running a regional promotion in search for hip hop talent who will be invited to perform at ESPN X Games Dubai through a series of competitions. For more information on the music contest, log on to www.orbit.net/frontyourtalent.

ABOUT ESPN's X GAMES FRANCHISE
ESPN, The Worldwide Leader in Action Sports, first developed its X Games franchise in 1995. Today, the X Games and Winter X Games are the biggest action sports events in the world. Part of ESPN Original Entertainment, X Games, Winter X Games and All Access are just some of the original action sports programming currently shown on ESPN and ESPN2. The brand has also grown to include international X Games events, EXPN.com, EXPN Radio, the large format film ESPN's Ultimate X, and various X Games-branded retail products.

Forthcoming details on ESPN X Games Dubai presented by Mountain Dew can be found on www.xgamesdubai.com for the public and www.espneventmedia.com for media.