Famous faces at Louvre Abu Dhabi: the stars who have been spotted at the Saadiyat institution

Louvre Abu Dhabi opened its doors on November 11, 2017 (after almost a decade of preparation). It has been a fine first year for the only universal museum in the Arab world, and the Abu Dhabi institution will celebrate its first anniversary from Thursday, November 8 until Sunday, November 11. The four-day celebrations will feature concerts, exhibitions, family activities and workshops as well as pop-up spoken art performances. One famous face who will stop by is Dua Lipa: the pop-star of the moment will be the headline performance on Sunday, November 11. So, with her upcoming visit, we take a quick look at the famous faces who have stopped by the cultural attraction. All the way back in 2015, two whole years before the museum opened, it was already a focal point as a tourist attraction, as seen in this ad featuring Nicole Kidman. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy stopped by in January 2016 to see how construction was progressing on the waterfront museum. He was joined by Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of TCA Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, is pictured here at the inauguration along with current French president, Emmanuel Macron. Bidhya Devi Bhandari, President of Nepal, visited a few days after the official opening and is pictured here with Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director General of Department of Culture and Tourism and Louvre Abu Dhabi Director Manuel Rabaté. Martha Stewart dropped by during a family visit in November 2017, and had this to say about the visit on her blog. "My grandchildren, Jude and Truman, loved Louvre Abu Dhabi , and were interested to see every piece of work." She also recommended the UAE as a place to visit saying, "we had a wonderful stay in the United Arab Emirates - it's truly a vacation destination for adults and children alike." Patrick Stewart and Adrien Brody took some time out from the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) in 2017 to pay a visit to Louvre Abu Dhabi. Stewart was in Dubai to receive a career achievement award at DIFF and was pictured on Louvre Abu Dhabi's Instagram feed with Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody, Saif Saeed Ghobash and Manuel Rabate. Brody even brought one of his own artworks to show off while there: Another former French president, Francois Hollande visited in December 2017, and is pictured here along with Ludovic Pouille, French Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Russian tennis champ Maria Sharapova visited in November 2017, and posted an 'editorial' monochrome shot from the museum. As well as an architecture appreciation shot. King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan visited in February of this year. Prince Andrew is a regular visitor to Abu Dhabi and in November last year he brought along his daughter , Princess Beatrice. Here they are with Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak. _________________________ Read more: Dua Lipa to headline Louvre Abu Dhabi's one year anniversary celebrations Louvre Abu Dhabi - The museum of then, now and the future Online contemporary art dealers, Fortune Favours Art, launches in the UAE _________________________

Famous faces at Louvre Abu Dhabi: the stars who have been spotted at the Saadiyat institution

The museum is about to turn a year old, and it's already a magnet for A-listers and top politicians