Abu Dhabi currently enjoys a budding role on the world stage, one that’s been bolstered as much by careful marketing as savvy political maneuvers. One of the key planks in that marketing strategy has been playing host to major sporting events, and last month the date that everyone had been waiting for arrived at last: Yas Island was finally open for the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, its thousands of excited followers, all manner of celebrities, and a throng of the world’s media.

Together with the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi had generated huge international interest for the race, and Communicate was eager to see whether the event was equal to the marketing hype. Even before the engines were started we knew they had pulled out all of the stops; as well as the practice, qualifying and race itself, the excitement and entertainment of ticket holders was also boosted by Beyonce, Jamiroquai, Kings of Leon and Aerosmith, who took turns bringing the four nights of the event to a climatic close.

In the midst of this Formula One frenzy, Communicate headed out to Yas Island to catch some of the action. We couldn’t help but wonder about the significance of the curvaceous bits of metal streaking around the track, particularly as the championship had been wrapped up two weeks earlier. But the luxurious yachts in Yas Marina and the serene Yas hotel provided an alternative if your eyes weren’t quite fully engaged with the racing action.

As ever we were on the lookout for both marketing gimmicks and greatness. The road approaching the Island was completely flanked by real estate company Aldar’s ad efforts, while the walls of the parking lots were promoting all that Yas Island had to offer – in other words its golf course, mall and hotel. Somewhat surprisingly the circuit itself, though it housed various RBS, Alianz Insurance and Bridgestone ads, was left looking largely bleak. More predictably, there were memorabilia shops a plenty, each housing various gaudy red and black items of clothing; Communicate was baffled by some of the numerous useless things emblazoned with the Ferrari motif.

Meanwhile there was another missed opportunity with the food and bar facilities in the concert arena in the evenings. There was no affiliation of any kind, unless you happened to admire the branded plastic glasses you were drinking from. And this seemed an unlikely course of action, given the international stars on stage.

For those who failed to comprehend the concept of walking (everyone, it seemed), Yas Island came equipped with over 300 buses, to take you wherever you desired, whether 10 meters down the road or all the way back to your parking lot. Given the scale of the place, the public transport was actually imperative to the smooth running of this event, and that made the complete lack of advertising on every one of these buses all the more ludicrous.

There was no lack of policemen, on the other hand, and the over-generous supply made it sometimes seem like there was one cop per person. Perhaps this was more about spectacle than crime; the Abu Dhabi police showed some terrific marketing awareness in the build up to the big event. A specially commissioned, branded F999 racing car became the center piece of its road safety campaign, and featured heavily in adverts and in the press.

The world’s press and fans were looking to Abu Dhabi to deliver, and given the size and international appeal of the event, the pressure was definitely on. But it was also an opportunity for Abu Dhabi to put on a spectacular show and bask in its glory.

Perhaps because of that, the organizers’ attention was focused elsewhere – such as completing the circuit and grandstands and adding the finishing touches to the marina – and Communicate couldn’t help thinking many marketing opportunities were missed. But the event itself was marketed and delivered to perfection, and received plaudits from all over the globe. So it was imperfect and exciting in equal measure, and isn’t that precisely the kind of environment from which great advertising can flow? True, it didn’t this year, but it looks like there will be many more years to come.