Britain's Prince Harry joined pop royalty, including Jennifer Lopez, at a star-studded concert in Los Angeles on Sunday to urge faster and more even global vaccinations, as he voiced support for India during its devastating Covid-19 outbreak.
Vax Live: The Concert To Reunite The World featured video messages from the Pope and US President Joe Biden, plus in-person appearances from Hollywood stars such as Ben Affleck and Sean Penn.
The show will broadcast on television and YouTube on Saturday, after being pre-taped in front of thousands of fully vaccinated spectators at a vast California stadium on Sunday.
The virus does not respect borders, and access to the vaccine cannot be determined by geography
"Tonight, we stand in solidarity with the millions of families across India, who are battling a devastating second wave," said Prince Harry, who was greeted with a standing ovation.
"The virus does not respect borders, and access to the vaccine cannot be determined by geography," added Harry, making his first in-person appearance at a major public event in California since moving in 2020 to the US with wife Meghan Markle, who did not appear at the event.
The concert organised by Global Citizen, an international advocacy organisation, aims to battle vaccine disinformation while calling on world leaders and corporations to take action and make donations.
Thousands of spectators gathered inside LA's giant, recently completed SoFi Stadium for the first time. Most attendees were frontline medical workers, many dressed in nurse and doctor uniforms.
Selena Gomez hosted proceedings, calling for "doses and dollars" to go to the world's poorest countries, even as California and parts of the West emerge from lengthy lockdowns thanks to massive inoculation progress.
A glittering JLo told fans she had been forced to spend Christmas without her mother for the first time because of the pandemic – before bringing the Lopez matriarch on to an elaborate meadow-themed stage for a feel good singalong of Sweet Caroline.
The Foo Fighters were joined by surprise guest Brian Johnson of AC/DC for a rendition of Back In Black.
"We ain't out of the woods yet... let's work as hard as we can to make sure we can do this" every night, said frontman Dave Grohl.
Organisers said the event had surpassed its fundraising goal need to purchase 10 million vaccine doses for low and middle-income countries, drawing more than $53 million in donations from corporations and philanthropists.
In pre-taped messages, President Biden said he was "working with leaders around the world to share more vaccines and boost production", while Pope Francis said: "I beg you not to forget the most vulnerable."
Other video messages came from Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Prince Harry, who took to the large circular stage in the middle of the arena dressed casually in a blue shirt, described online disinformation about vaccines as a "humanitarian crisis" that is "getting worse".
The concert will stream on YouTube along with American television networks ABC and CBS on Saturday at 8pm ET (midnight GMT). It will also show internationally on Brazil's Globo, Colombia's Caracol TV, SABC in South Africa and MultiChoice in Africa.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
