Tour de Force - Middle East 5

July 5, 2006 to July 19, 2006

TDF MEAO 5 consisted of a series of 13 concerts held over a 15 day period in six different locations across the Middle East. The tour achieved considerable success with meeting its primary objective. All people involved are to be highly commended for their contributions.

The artists were:

- Lee Harding, singer and Australian Idol finalist, and his band Bedrock;

- Clint Paddison, comedian;

- Stacey Morris, country music artist;

- Nicki Gillis, country music artist; and

- Aniela Hedditch, MC/Host.

The basic format of the shows were:

- Opening by MC Aniela Hedditch;

- Stacey Morris and Nicki Gillis performed a 45 minute set;

- Comedian Clint Paddison performed a 15 minute set; and

- Lee Harding and Bedrock performed a fifty minute set.

Throughout the show, artists were introduced by MC Aniela Hedditch who also closed the show.

Originally, one show was scheduled for Camp Smitty and one for Tallil, however security issues led to the concert at Camp Smitty being cancelled, resulting in two shows for Tallil. Unfortunately this change meant that the bulk of AMTG3 missed the shows.

The tour received a fantastic reception by coalition personnel at Camp Victory. The US Camp Victory Mayor Cell arranged for carpenters and painters to decorate the main stage with Australian scenes and icons in anticipation of the show. The show was well publicised with good attendance and a great response from those in the audience.

Overall, the tour intensity was high and it is estimated that TDF MEAO 5 achieved attendance of about 70% of deployed Australians in the areas visited.