Arab celebrities and designers spotted at Cannes 2021: from Bella Hadid to Karen Wazen

The 74th Cannes Film Festival, which was delayed because of the pandemic, is in full swing in the French Riviera, with plenty of well-heeled celebrities padding their way down the red carpets.

Premieres, screenings and press conferences are being hosted in abundance, as the festival, which runs until Saturday, July 17, brings together some of the film industry's most highly anticipated titles, as well as some of the silver screen's most famous faces.

There's plenty of representation from the Mena region, from Arab stars to big-name celebrities donning looks by Arab designers.

Take a look through the photo gallery above to see more looks from Arab stars and designers.

Arab stars on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival

Karen Wazen, a fashion influencer who lives in Dubai, made an impression in a stark-white Tony Ward gown on the red carpet at the star-studded premiere of Aline, the Voice of Love.

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi looked sharp in a suit at the Ghahreman (A Hero) screening, while Tunisian actress Dorra Zarrouk stunned in a silk chiffon gown by Lebanese designer Rami Kadi at the Chopard Trophy dinner.

At the opening ceremony, Palestinian-Dutch supermodel Bella Hadid looked glam in Jean Paul Gaultier for the Annette screening.

Elisa Sednaoui, a model, actress and film director of Italian, Egyptian and French descent, wowed in Alberta Ferretti, while Leila Bekhti, a French-Algerian film and TV actress, looked stunning in Givenchy. Fellow French-Algerian star Tahar Rahim, who is among the jury alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal, arrived looking sharp in a suit.

French-Algerian director Mounia Meddour, who is part of this year's Un Certain Regard jury, attended a photo call in crisp white separates, while Ola Farahat, a fashion blogger and social media star in Dubai, arrived wearing an Alberta Ferretti strapless gown for the screening of Tout s'est bien passe (Everything Went Fine) on Wednesday.

Saudi model Hala Abdallah also attended the festival in a beautiful sequinned gown by Rami Kadi, while Reem Khabbazeh, an entrepreneur in Dubai, attended the Chopard event in an eye-catching red number.

Take a look through the photo gallery below to see more looks from the opening ceremony:

Celebrities wearing Arab designers

Fashion designers from across the region made an appearance on the red carpet in the form of stunning, embellished gowns.

The red carpet for the Aline, the Voice of Love premiere, in particular, was awash with gowns by Saudi and Lebanese designers.

Model Noel Capri Berry wore a canary yellow gown by Saudi Arabia's Ashi Studio, while fashion blogger Jessica Wang also chose a yellow gown by Lebanese-Italian designer Tony Ward. Brazilian model Isabeli Fontana opted for a silver sequinned gown by Rami Kadi, while Belgian model Rose Bertram wore a futuristic white gown with oversized pullover collar by Nicolas Jebran.

At The French Dispatch screening, Spanish model and TV presenter Nieves Alvarez wore a black halter gown by Elie Saab, while Iranian model Farnoush Hamidian donned a look by Rami Kadi.

Kuwaiti Instagram star Fatima Almomen looked radiant as she attended the Annette screening in a form-fitting "gazar column gown" by Tony Ward.

Elvira Jain, from Dubai, went to a Chopard dinner wearing Emirati label Dinal Melwani, a label much favoured by the model.

Meanwhile, Farhana Bodi, another fashion influencer from Dubai, wore a canary yellow ballgown by Oman's Atelier Zuhar at the opening ceremony.

A few other international stars have also opted for looks from the Middle East throughout the week, mostly by Lebanese designer Elie Saab.

Melita Toscan du Plantier, wife of the late French film producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier, was seen in a sea-green sequinned look by the Lebanese atelier, while German model Lorena Rae opted for a feather detailed dress. Spanish star Paz Vega dazzled in an embellished, sparkling dress, also by Elie Saab, at the Stillwater premiere.

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber

War on waste

Campaigners call for UAE supermarkets to charge for plastic bags

UAE's takeaway culture sparks environmental concern

SPECS

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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo

Transmission: CVT

Power: 170bhp

Torque: 220Nm

Price: Dh98,900

$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.

School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.

“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.

“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat

Challenge Cup result:

1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

Euro 2020

Group A: Italy, Switzerland, Wales, Turkey

Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland

Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria,
Georgia/Kosovo/Belarus/North Macedonia

Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Scotland/Israel/Norway/Serbia

Group E: Spain, Poland, Sweden,
N.Ireland/Bosnia/Slovakia/Ireland

Group F: Germany, France, Portugal,
Iceland/Romania/Bulgaria/Hungary

Types of fraud

Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.

Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.

Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.

SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.

Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.

Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.

* Nada El Sawy

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday

Second leg

Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm

Game is on BeIN Sports

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.”

Arab celebrities and designers spotted at Cannes 2021: from Bella Hadid to Karen Wazen

There's plenty of representation from the Mena region in the French Riviera

Arab stars on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival

Celebrities wearing Arab designers

The specs

War on waste

SPECS

The specs

$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS

The five pillars of Islam

WOMAN AND CHILD

Ain Dubai in numbers

Euro 2020

Types of fraud

MATCH INFO