There are plenty of festivals held across the globe each year and with the Abu Dhabi Festival having just kicked off in the capital, we’ve put together a list of some of the coolest to add to the bucket list.
1. Abu Dhabi Festival
Where Abu Dhabi, UAE
When Until April 30
About One of the UAE’s leading celebrations of arts and culture, the festival continues to attract the highest calibre of artists to Emirates Palace every year.
Details www.abudhabifestival.ae
2. Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Where California, United States
When April 15 to 24
About The first major music event on the world festival calendar. It's California's answer to Glastonbury and features this year Florence and the Machine, David Guetta and Jack White.
Details www.coachella.com
3. National Cheese Festival
Where Trujillo, Spain
When April 29 to May 2
About Attracts more than 10,000 food fans to the historic main square of Trujillo for a cheese fest. Visitors can sample more than 500 flavours.
Details www.trujillovillasespana.com/fiestas-festivals
4. The Vienna Festival
Where Vienna, Austria
When May 13 to June 19
About Offers five weeks of dance, music, theatre and arts. Covers everything from the classics to avant-garde.
Details www.festwochen.at/en/
5. Cappadox
Where Cappadocia, Turkey
When May 19 to 22
About Held in Cappadocia in Central Anatolia, the three-day event offers music, art, dining events and outdoor activities.
Details www.cappadox.com
6. Vivid Sydney Festival
Where Sydney, Australia
When May 27 to June 18
About The largest event of its kind in the world combining light, music and ideas. The programme features large-scale light installations and projections; music performances and collaborations; and creative ideas, discussion and debate.
Details www.vividsydney.com
7. Parklife
Where Manchester, United Kingdom
When June 11 and 12
About A music festival that was originally the end-of-exam party for students. Highlights include The Chemical Brothers and local DJs.
Details www.parklife.uk.com
8. Art Basel
Where Basel, Switzerland
When June 16 to 19
About See some of the best contemporary artists in the world. More than 2,500 artists are represented.
Details www.artbasel.com
9. Durban International Film Festival
Where Durban, South Africa
When June 16 to 26
About A 10-day celebration of world-class cinema, which screens new feature, documentary and short films from around the globe with a special focus on African film.
Details www.durbanfilmfest.co.za
10. Glastonbury Festival
Where Somerset, United Kingdom
When June 22 to 26
About The world's biggest music festival this year features Adele, Coldplay, Muse and Ellie Goulding, among others.
Details www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk
11. Larmer Tree Festival
Where Dorset, United Kingdom
When July 13 to 17
About A vibrant woodland festival set in the historic Larmer Tree pleasure gardens. This year, Jamie Cullum will headline the event, which includes stand-up comedy, jam sessions, craft workshops and relaxation therapies.
Details www.larmertreefestival.co.uk
12. Lollapalooza
Where Chicago, United States
When July 28 to 31
About A famed music fest that's held in Grant Park. Features acts such as Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ellie Goulding and Lana Del Rey.
Details www.lollapalooza.com
13. Sziget Festival
Where Budapest, Hungary
When August 10 to 17
About One of the world's most iconic music festivals, featuring everything from EDM to hard rock and artists including Rihanna, Sia and Noel Gallagher.
Details www.szigetfestival.com
14. Bristol International Balloon Fiesta
Where Bristol, United Kingdom
When August 11 to 14
About Europe's largest ballooning event. More than 150 balloons take off from Ashton Court Estate at dawn and linger in the air until evening, when they illuminate the skies.
Details www.bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk
15. La Tomatina
Where Buñol, Spain
When August 31
About A food-fight festival held each year in the town of Buñol near Valencia in Spain. More than 100 metric tonnes of overripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets.
Details www.latomatina.info
16. Galway International Oyster and Seafood Festival
Where Galway, Ireland
When September 22 to 25
About Marks the start of the oyster season. As well as shucking and tasting, there will be a parade and a gala ball.
Details www.galwayoysterfest.com
17. Austin City Limits Music Festival
Where Texas, United States
When September 30 to October 2 and October 7 to 9
About An annual three-day American music fest, with eight stages and plenty of madness ranging from Iggy Pop, Neil Young and Weezer to Alabama Shakes and Steve Earle.
Details www.aclfestival.com
18. Iceland Airwaves
Where Reykjavik, Iceland
When November 2 to 6
About An eclectic mix of musical acts, including P J Harvey and Julia Holter, playing in intimate venues across Reykjavik, including the famous Blue Lagoon.
Details www.icelandairwaves.is
19. Dubai International Film Festival
Where Dubai, UAE
When December 7 to December 14
About The festival will see thousands of cinema-goers, actors, directors, producers, writers and industry experts descend on Dubai to enjoy the world's best films in one of the world's premier locations.
Details www.dubaifilmfest.com
20. Woodford Folk Festival
Where Queensland, Australia
When December 27 to January 1, 2017
About More than 2,000 performers and 438 events are programmed featuring local, national and international guests. Appeals to a diverse audience.
Details www.woodfordfolkfestival.com
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
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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.
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
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Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
