Many of us have not had much reason to laugh in 2020, but the Dubai Comedy Festival is doing its best to change that.
The event revealed its programme for this year, with several of stand-up's biggest names in the line-up.
The festival, which will be held at various venues across the city, will take place from Wednesday to Saturday, October 21 to October 24.
Michelle Wolf, Vir Das and Nemr are among the comedians scheduled to take to the stage, with all venues sticking to social distancing and safety protocols.
“We welcome everyone to celebrate the beauty of comedy and laugh together at this festival, providing even greater inspiration to the participating artists from the East and West, and a boost to all the local artists who are part of the UAE’s growing entertainment landscape," says Ahmed Al Khaja, chief executive of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment.
Here's who to expect on stage and when.
Michelle Wolf and Mo Amer: Wednesday, October 21, Dubai Opera
The two seasoned performers will take to the Downtown Dubai venue's stage in a night hosted by Dubai's own stand-up, Ali Al Sayed.
Wolf, who has written for Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, famously headlined the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner. The American comedienne also recently released her second stand-up special, Joke Show, on Netflix.
Palestinian-American comic Amer, meanwhile, plays Mo in Ramy Youssef's hit comedy show Ramy. His first comedy special, The Vagabond, which came out in 2018 on Netflix, was the first show of its kind by an Arab American on the streaming platform.
Nemr: Thursday, October 22, Dubai Opera
A regional favourite, Lebanon's Nemr Abou Nassar returns to the UAE for his Dubai Opera debut. The comic's career continues to make strides in the Arab world and abroad. As well as selling out multiple UAE gigs, Nemr's special No Bombing in Beirut was broadcast on Showtime in 2017.
Vir Das: Thursday, October 22, Dubai World Trade Centre
Das, who played a sold-out show at Dubai Opera earlier this year, has starred in films including Delhi Belly and Badmaash Company. The Indian comedian and actor had his own Netflix stand-up special, Abroad Understanding, in 2017 and has also appeared in sitcom Fresh Off the Boat and starred in 2019 comedy-drama Whiskey Cavalier.
Gad Elmaleh: Friday, October 23, Dubai Opera
The French-Moroccan comedian, who will perform in French, last performed in the UAE in 2018. The comic, often dubbed the "Seinfeld of France", has starred in several films, including Coco and Midnight in Paris, and last year released the Netflix series Huge in France.
Gaurav Kapoor: Friday, October 23, The Theatre, Mall of Emirates
Described as a "sweet Delhi boy", Kapoor is a prime example of India's flourishing stand-up comedy scene. As well as supporting Russell Brand on his 2015 Indian tour, Kapoor has performed well-received gigs at some of India's hottest comedy nights including Big Mic, Canvas Laugh and Chalta Hai. Performed in English, Kapoor’s comedy will discuss "Jaat culture, people who buy Royal Enfields and poverty ... mostly his own".
Mina Liccione: Saturday, October 24, The Theatre, Mall of Emirates
In the show Mina Liccione and The Funny Girls Go Pink, the American comedienne will be joined by a group of comics in a performance dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness. Liz Bains, Sameera Khan, Rebecca How and Nada Karim will perform stand-up sets, while DJ Trina will later spin some tunes.
For tickets or more information, visit dubaicalendar.com or ticketmaster.ae
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.”
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
