One of the biggest events in Al Dhafra region is underway as the 2024 Liwa Date Festival is taking place in the Liwa Oasis.
Running until July 28, the festival sees hundreds of thousands of visitors descend upon the desert region to celebrate the humble date, a fruit that is an integral symbol of Emirati heritage.
It's also an annual gathering point for thousands of farmers who participate in pursuit of their share of a multi-million dirham prize pool.
On Saturday, Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, the Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra, toured the 20th annual festival, visiting various pavillions and being briefed on some of the heritage activities that are part of the event.
If you want to follow suit, the festival is a great place to learn about Emirati customs and traditions. Even better, it's free-to-enter and packed with date-related events, competitions, culinary displays, handicrafts and family-friendly activities.
If you're planning to go, here's what you need to know:
Where does the festival take place?
The 2024 Liwa Date Festival takes place in Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra region, at Liwa oasis on the northern tip of the Empty Quarter, and near the border between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. It's a place where palm trees have grown and dates have been cultivated for 5,000 years.
Driving there from Abu Dhabi takes about two hours on the E11 highway. The festival is open all day, every day until July 28, and takes place in a huge air-conditioned tent.
What to see and do?
The most important events at the festival are the date competitions with the main one being the award for the Best Date Fruit. There's also accolades for the Heaviest Date Branch and the Best Date Basket Displays, plus an auction where the fruits have been known to sell for upwards of Dh6,000.
For visitors, the festival offer a chance to learn more about local farmers and how they harvest, process and cultivate dates. There are also several stalls selling all things date-related including date-filled pastries, date infused beverages and date syrup.
But its not only about dates. Visitors can also wander the event's rambling souk, where stalls are filled with traditional Emirati crafts such as pottery, weaving, and metalwork. Foodies can enjoy a host of local culinary offerings – with everything from Al Harees, a type of savory porridge to Luqaimat, crispy dough balls coated in sticky date syrup. Live cooking demonstrations from local chefs are also part of the line-up.
The children's village is ideal for families and offers activities such as storytelling, traditional games and hands-on workshops where little ones can learn more about the significance of the date in Emirati society. There's also camel rides, traditional music, arts and crafts and falconry displays for the whole family to enjoy.
Hotels to stay near Liwa Date Festival
Visitors who want to make a night of their trip to Liwa have a choice of hotels to stay in, all not too far from the main event. The five-star Western Hotel Liwa has a dune-surrounded swimming pool, a spa and evening entertainment such as live music and cultural performances, with rates from Dh608.
Bab Al Nujoom Bateen Liwa Resort offers secluded desert villas with private plunge pools and a host of on-site activities including nature trails, archery, camel trekking and more. Summer rates start at about Dh720.
For the ultimate luxury stay, Qasr Al Sarab Resort by Anantara is the place to go for uninterrupted Empty Quarter views, tranquility and an elegant old-world charm – and low-season rates start at Dh1,455.
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- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
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- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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