The world-famous Hay Festival, which started in Wales in 1987, has been described as everything from the "Woodstock of literature" to the "Christmas of the book world". So local bibliophiles will have something to celebrate when Abu Dhabi’s spin off to the festival begins today.
The festival is bringing some major names to the capital, including pioneering Syrian poet, Adonis, who will celebrate his 90th birthday with a poetry gala, and Man Booker International Prize winner Jokha Alharthi.
Hay Festival Abu Dhabi will also take a page from its Welsh counterpart's book, hosting music performances alongside literary interviews and panels. Beirut rockers Mashrou' Leila will return to the UAE for a concert, while Lebanese composer Marcel Khalife will set Mahmoud Darwish's words to music in an evocative show.
We've put together a handy guide with everything you need to know about the festival, from where to eat and how to get there to how to book tickets.
When is Hay Festival Abu Dhabi?
The festival will run from Tuesday, February 25 to Friday, February 28.
Where will the festival take place?
While it was initially going to be spread across Abu Dhabi, the festival will now be held solely at Manarat Al Saadiyat on Saadiyat Island. The talks, panels, music and poetry performances will be spread across a number of halls at the venue, including the Atrium, the Tolerance Majlis, the Theatre and the Etihad Garden Stage.
Check in advance where your favourite talk or workshop is taking place, to make sure you’re at the right location at the right time.
Getting to the festival
If you're coming from downtown Abu Dhabi, follow signs for Yas Island from the Mina Zayed area and take Sheikh Khalifa Bridge to Saadiyat Island. Follow signs off Sheikh Khalifa Highway E12 to Manarat Al Saadiyat.
You can also get to Manarat Al Saadiyat by bus, from the Central Bus Station (located on the backside of Al Wahda Mall). The 170, 120, 121 lines will all take you to the venue in a bit more than thirty minutes. A taxi ride should take about half that time but will cost significantly more than the Dh3 bus fare.
If you're coming from Dubai on the E11 highway, take Saadiyat Island Yas Island exit on to the Sheikh Khalifa Highway E12 and drive across Yas Island to Saadiyat Island. You'll soon see signs guiding you to the venue. There are two car parks available at Manarat Al Saadiyat, so parking should not be an issue.
Where can you eat?
Manarat Al Saadiyat has a restaurant, Larte, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Cakes, pastries and desserts are also available all day.
There are plenty of restaurants located at the hotels in the Saadiyat Island area. The St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort has a number of eateries, ranging from Shakespeare and Co, to the seafood and sushi spot Koi Restaurant and Lounge. If you're craving Mediterranean, head to the Beach House at the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi. For a more healthy option, Circle Cafe at the Saadiyat Community Centre is a good choice.
One thing to note is that the festival is going green, so visitors are encouraged to bring their own water bottles with them. There will be plenty of water refill points available around the venue.
Where do you get tickets?
Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office located at the festival site. The box office will be open daily from the beginning of the first event until the beginning of the last event each day.
Please note that tickets can only be purchased with a credit or debit card. You'll be issued an e-ticket to gain access to the site.
Tickets are free if you are under 25 years old or in full time education.
What should you see?
There is so much to see at the inaugural festival. Classicist and historian Bettany Hughes will tell the story of extraordinary projects that are helping refugee stonemasons rebuild the shattered treasures of Syria.
The lecture is illustrated with film footage from Hughes’s documentaries about the project. Hughes’s talk will take place at 4.30pm on Tuesday, February 25 at The Theatre stage.
Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka talks about the rewriting of history, the making of language,and the storyteller's duty to speak up. His talk will take place at 7.30pm on Tuesday, February 25 at the Tolerance Majlis.
Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif will discuss her writing and the Palestine Festival of Literature she founded. Soueif's award-winning fiction includes In the Eye of the Sun and The Map of Love. Her non-fiction work includes Cairo: Memoir of a City Transformed. Her talk will be held at The Theatre on Wednesday, Feburary 26, at 4pm.
There will be a number of film and documentary screenings at the festival. The Children After War session presents a series of short films that explore how war affects young people, whether through animation, performance or the involvement of those who lived the events they recount. The session will take place at 1pm on Thursday, February 27, at The Theatre.
Jokha Alharthi made history when her novel Celestial Bodies became the first Arabic-language book to win the International Man Booker Prize. Her novel follows the intertwined tales of three sisters and the secrets and conflicts – both internal and external – of their small Omani society. Her talk will take place at 5.30pm on Thursday, February 27, at the Etihad Garden Stage.
Palestinian Canadian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish's three daughters were killed by Israeli shells in 2009, during the Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip. Instead of seeking revenge or sinking into hatred, Abuelaish called for the people in the region to start talking to each other. His response to this tragedy made news and won him humanitarian awards around the world. His talk will take place on Friday, February 28, at 4pm at the Etihad Garden Stage.
What to listen to: the music at Hay
It's not just authors and talks featured at the inaugural festival. There will be a series of music and dance performances across the festival's four-day takeover of Manarat Al Saadyiat, too.
Kicking off the festival is the leading UK contemporary dance group 2Faced Dance Company. The all-male group mixes elements of break dance, contemporary styles and acrobatics. They will be performing their Power set at 1.30pm on Tuesday, February 25, at the Tolerance Majlis stage.
Algerian folk icon Souad Massi will perform her comeback album Oumniya at the festival. Her music prominently features the acoustic guitar, blending rock and Portuguese fado influences with Arab and African stylings. Her sixth studio album is anchored in current events, covering Algeria, politics, love, freedom and emancipation. Massi sings in classical Arabic, Algerian Arabic, English, French and the Kabyle Berber language. She will be performing at 7.30pm on Tuesday, February 25, at the Etihad Garden Stage.
Formed during a late-night jam session at the American University of Beirut in 2008, Mashrou' Leila have become one of the biggest bands from the Middle East.
They will be returning to the UAE in a performance at The Atrium on Tuesday, February 25, at 10pm.
Bachar Mar-Khalife will perform with his father Marcel Khalife, the renowned Lebanese composer, oudist and singer, in a musical tribute to his friend the great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. The concert will take place at the Etihad Garden Stage on Thursday, February 27, at 9.30pm.
Where can you buy the authors' books?
There will be a pop-up in Magrudy's Bookshop at Manarat Al Saadiyat throughout the festival, with a wonderful selection of participating writers' books. Make sure you go and meet the writers at book signings taking place after each event.
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
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5. Sorghum
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Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
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Thanksgiving meals to try
World Cut Steakhouse, Habtoor Palace Hotel, Dubai. On Thursday evening, head chef Diego Solis will be serving a high-end sounding four-course meal that features chestnut veloute with smoked duck breast, turkey roulade accompanied by winter vegetables and foie gras and pecan pie, cranberry compote and popcorn ice cream.
Jones the Grocer, various locations across the UAE. Jones’s take-home holiday menu delivers on the favourites: whole roast turkeys, an array of accompaniments (duck fat roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in beef bacon, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots) and more, as well as festive food platters, canapes and both apple and pumpkin pies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Address Hotel, Dubai. This New Orleans-style restaurant is keen to take the stress out of entertaining, so until December 25 you can order a full seasonal meal from its Takeaway Turkey Feast menu, which features turkey, homemade gravy and a selection of sides – think green beans with almond flakes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole and bread stuffing – to pick up and eat at home.
The Mattar Farm Kitchen, Dubai. From now until Christmas, Hattem Mattar and his team will be producing game- changing smoked turkeys that you can enjoy at home over the festive period.
Nolu’s, The Galleria Mall, Maryah Island Abu Dhabi. With much of the menu focused on a California inspired “farm to table” approach (with Afghani influence), it only seems right that Nolu’s will be serving their take on the Thanksgiving spread, with a brunch at the Downtown location from 12pm to 4pm on Friday.
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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South and West: From a Notebook
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
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AGUERO'S PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD
Apps: 186
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Assists: 31
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The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):
British group
Coldplay
Foals
Bring me the Horizon
D-Block Europe
Bastille
British Female
Mabel
Freya Ridings
FKA Twigs
Charli xcx
Mahalia
British male
Harry Styles
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Michael Kiwanuka
Stormzy
Best new artist
Aitch
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Mabel
Sam Fender
Best song
Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care
Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up
Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant
Dave - Location
Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove
Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved
Tom Walker - Just You and I
Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger
Stormzy - Vossi Bop
International female
Ariana Grande
Billie Eilish
Camila Cabello
Lana Del Rey
Lizzo
International male
Bruce Springsteen
Burna Boy
Tyler, The Creator
Dermot Kennedy
Post Malone
Best album
Stormzy - Heavy is the Head
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
Dave - Psychodrama
Harry Styles - Fine Line
Rising star
Celeste
Joy Crookes
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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FIXTURES
All games 6pm UAE on Sunday:
Arsenal v Watford
Burnley v Brighton
Chelsea v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Tottenham
Everton v Bournemouth
Leicester v Man United
Man City v Norwich
Newcastle v Liverpool
Southampton v Sheffield United
West Ham v Aston Villa
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5