“Water – with magic,” yells a man with a thick Arabic accent.
Tiny cups of water are arranged near an assortment of coloured potions with labels reading “black widow”, “dragon blood” and “skele-grow”.
Passers-by help themselves to the resulting concoction – which appears to be a glorified orange juice. I grab two plastic cups of water and gulp them down quickly. I’m parched and can feel the heat generated by the few hundred bodies crammed inside the Virgin Megastore at Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates.
Outside, a makeshift doorway has been created, with “Platform 9¾” scrawled over the entrance. Signs reading “No Muggles” are pasted on the storefront windows.
It is 2am and the store is open late for the much-anticipated launch of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The book features the script of the new two-part play of the same name, which had its official premiere in London's West End on Saturday. Tickets are sold out until May next year.
See more: Fans celebrate the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child book launch at the Mall of the Emirates — in pictures
Co-written by J K Rowling, it is a brand new story, set 19 years after the conclusion of the final novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It features a grown-up Harry, struggling to balance his life as a father-of-three and an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic.
Kalindi Bhatia, 26, arrived at 1.45am sharp, and is the first in line at the cash register, even though sales will not start until 3am, to coincide with the midnight launch in London. She works in marketing, and will have be up again at 8am, but says she could not miss the opportunity to get her hands on the new book immediately.
“It’ll probably just take me two days to read,” she says.
The Harry Potter movie theme music plays in the background, though it is hard to hear above the buzz of the excited crowd. Some of the young girls have lightning-shaped scars like Harry's on their foreheads, created with make-up pencils, while several young boys are wearing the wizard's signature round eyeglasses.
A woman wears a lavender wig, probably in honour of Nymphadora Tonks, a witch who died while defending Hogwarts.
A Professor Snape lookalike, has the character’s distinctive nose and severe black hairstyle, along with a touch of kohl around the eyes.
Black picnic tables are set up at the entrance of the store to mimic the Hogwarts Great Hall, while gold and black balloons are scattered along the floor. There’s even one foil balloon in the shape of the Snitch – the winged ball used in the wizarding sport of Quiddich.
Children await their turn for face and body painting. Ali Ahmed, 8, has Hedwig the owl drawn on his forearm, while his sister, Maryum, 14, asks for an illustration of the snitch. They are on holiday, visiting from Pakistan and are up way past their bedtime.
“I probably won’t sleep until 6am – it’s the latest I’ve slept in a while,” says Maryum.
Older Potter fans enter the store and walk straight to the back, lining up at the cashier’s desk. They’re not here for face paint or flavoured jelly beans – they just can’t wait to get their hands on the book.
Dubai-based fashion designer Mahsa Kazemi, 28, explains that she pre-ordered it in advance.
“I’m an ’80s kid, I had to come,” she says. “The true Harry Potter fans are the ones who read the books, not those who just watched the movies.”
By 2.30am, staff have to set up additional ribbon barriers so that the queue can accommodate more people.
As customers enter the store, their faces fall when they see the length of the queue.
“I told you we should have pre-ordered,” one teenaged boy says to his friend. Two lines form in front of the cash registers – one for those who pre-ordered the book, and one for those who did not.
When the clock is about to strike three, a woman dressed in Hogwarts robes bellows the 10-second countdown, and the crowd counts with her.
Then, the cash registers are finally open, the large boxes are ripped open, and the fans are finally able to get their hands on a prized copy of the hardcover book. The lines move quickly, and by 3.20am, the party is wrapping up.
As Maryum and Ali pay for their copy of the book, Ali reaches over the counter elatedly and grabs it from the cashier, before posing for a picture while holding a life-size photo frame reading “Have you seen this wizard?” Beaming, he still clutches the book in one hand.
The first Harry Potter novel was published in 1997, and the last, in 2007, before Ali was born. But the huge turnout – including bookworms who have been fans since day one and youngsters who discovered the boy wizard through the films – is a welcome reminder that magic can touch us at any age.
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is now available at Virgin Megastores in the UAE
hlodi@thenational.ae
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
The five pillars of Islam
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Voy! Voy! Voy!
Director: Omar Hilal
Stars: Muhammad Farrag, Bayoumi Fouad, Nelly Karim
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 190hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.9L/100km
Price: From Dh119,900
On sale: Now
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
Company profile
Name: WallyGPT
Started: 2014
Founders: Saeid and Sami Hejazi
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Investment raised: $7.1 million
Number of staff: 20
Investment stage: Pre-seed round
Specs
Power train: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 and synchronous electric motor
Max power: 800hp
Max torque: 950Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Battery: 25.7kWh lithium-ion
0-100km/h: 3.4sec
0-200km/h: 11.4sec
Top speed: 312km/h
Max electric-only range: 60km (claimed)
On sale: Q3
Price: From Dh1.2m (estimate)
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
MOTHER OF STRANGERS
Author: Suad Amiry
Publisher: Pantheon
Pages: 304
Available: Now
TOURNAMENT INFO
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Thursday results
UAE beat Kuwait by 86 runs
Qatar beat Bahrain by five wickets
Saudi Arabia beat Maldives by 35 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, third-place playoff – Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
3pm, final – UAE v Qatar
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
MO
Creators: Mohammed Amer, Ramy Youssef
Stars: Mohammed Amer, Teresa Ruiz, Omar Elba
Rating: 4/5
Results
6.30pm: Madjani Stakes Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m, Winner: RB Frynchh Dude, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,400m, Winner: Mnasek, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Grand Dubai, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m, Winner: Meqdam, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Thegreatcollection, Pat Cosgrave, Doug Watson.
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,900m, Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,400m, Winner: Madkhal, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
A Round of Applause
Director: Berkun Oya
Starring: Aslihan Gürbüz, Fatih Artman, Cihat Suvarioglu
Rating: 4/5
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
THE STRANGERS' CASE
Director: Brandt Andersen
Starring: Omar Sy, Jason Beghe, Angeliki Papoulia
Rating: 4/5
Stan Lee
Director: David Gelb
Rating: 3/5
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Turning waste into fuel
Average amount of biofuel produced at DIC factory every month: Approximately 106,000 litres
Amount of biofuel produced from 1 litre of used cooking oil: 920ml (92%)
Time required for one full cycle of production from used cooking oil to biofuel: One day
Energy requirements for one cycle of production from 1,000 litres of used cooking oil:
▪ Electricity - 1.1904 units
▪ Water- 31 litres
▪ Diesel – 26.275 litres
Dengue fever symptoms
- High fever
- Intense pain behind your eyes
- Severe headache
- Muscle and joint pains
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Swollen glands
- Rash
If symptoms occur, they usually last for two-seven days
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE (+4 GMT)
Tuesday
Mairobr v Liverpool
Spartak Moscow v Sevilla
Feyenoord v Shakhtar Donetsk
Manchester City v Napoli
Monaco v Besiktas
RB Leipzig v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur
Wednesday
Benfica v Manchester United
CSKA Moscow v Basel
Bayern Munich v Celtic
Anderlecht v Paris Saint-Germain
Qarabag v Atletico Madrid
Chelsea v Roma
Barcelona v Olympiakos
Juventus v Sporting Lisbon
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing