ASTANA — Global pop star Enrique Iglesias shared a video by Kazakh artist and blogger Assel Sabyrzhankyzy on his official Facebook and X accounts, writing, “See you soon Kazakhstan.” The post comes ahead of his September concerts in Astana and Almaty on Sept.3-5.
Photo credit: trojmiasto.pl
Carpet becomes canvas
The two accounts where Iglesias shared the video have nearly 60 million followers combined, including approximately 49 million on Facebook and 10.9 million on X, reported Kazinform on July 13.
In the video, Sabyrzhankyzy replaces a conventional canvas with a carpet and uses spray paint to create a large portrait of Iglesias. The artwork is accompanied by his song “Ring My Bells.”
The short video follows a staged storyline in which the artist, after a disagreement with her husband over her creative work, takes the carpet to a rooftop and begins painting the portrait.
In the caption, Sabyrzhankyzy asked her followers to tag Iglesias in the comments so that he could see the finished work. Less than two days later, the singer noticed the publication and shared it on his official pages. The repost drew widespread attention on social media and put the Kazakh artist’s work in front of Iglesias’ global audience.
Iglesias is scheduled to perform at Astana Arena on Sept. 3, followed by a concert at Almaty’s Central Stadium on Sept. 5.
Kazakhstan’s expanding concert calendar
His visit comes as Kazakhstan continues to attract major international performers and position concerts and festivals as drivers of inbound tourism.
Photo credit: instagram page assolyaa
In January, Kazakh Tourism Chairman Talgat Gazizov reported that Kazakhstan is expected to host at least five major concerts and welcome more than 75,000 international concertgoers in 2026, compared with more than 25,000 in 2025.
The country’s concert calendar has since expanded significantly. Deep Purple performed in Almaty in April, followed in May by the Solana Festival, which featured Flo Rida, Busta Rhymes, Tyga, Nicole Scherzinger, Timbaland and Keri Hilson. American heavy metal band Megadeth performed in Almaty in June.
Several other major events are still ahead. Ricky Martin will perform in Almaty on July 18, with Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia appearing as a special guest. Romanian singer INNA will take the stage on July 19.
Park Live Almaty will bring Jack White, Gorillaz, The Offspring, The Kills, CeeLo Green and De La Soul to the city on Aug. 21-23.
The growing schedule builds on Kazakhstan’s 2025 concert season. Jennifer Lopez’s Almaty performance attracted 27,000 spectators, including 7,000 international visitors from 35 countries, and generated an estimated 10 billion tenge (US$21 million) in economic turnover.
The Backstreet Boys later performed for nearly 30,000 fans in both Almaty and Astana. Their concert in the capital drew more than 12,000 international visitors from 45 countries, further demonstrating the potential of large-scale entertainment events to support tourism and strengthen Kazakhstan’s visibility on the international concert map.
