With so few red carpets to walk this past year, stars, celebs and the world's sharpest-elbowed influencers piled on to the "tapis rouge" at the Cannes Film Festival.
Not even the absence of Lea Seydoux – sidelined by a case of Covid-19 – could dim the glamour.
The closing ceremony was no exception.
Take a look through the photo gallery above to see more from the stars' final festival foray.
Here are some of the most unforgettable looks of the fortnight:
Fine pair of lungs
Bella Hadid took the breath away with her Schiaparelli "lungs" dress, the bust replaced by two sculpted gold bronchial branches.
True to his reputation as couture's most daring designer, Daniel Roseberry said he wanted to celebrate the lungs as Europe breathes again after Covid.
Some worried the Palestinian-Dutch model would catch her death in it, though.
To their less enlightened eyes, Hadid's lungs looked as if they had been turned inside out and dipped in gold.
She also went all out in a Jean Paul Gaultier black scarf bodice.
Take a look through the photo gallery below to see more Arab celebrities and looks from Arab designers that made it to the Cannes red carpet this year:
Spike really has it
While some might question whether Spike Lee, who heads the Cannes jury, had done the right thing by putting festival postcards up for sale on his site for $100, no one could doubt his style even as he sported Nikes emblazoned with his own face.
At 63, he still has it, attracting every camera on the Croisette with a fuchsia Louis Vuitton zoot suit and matching sunglasses.
Hat tip too at his berets for every occasion – from Black Panther to Bastille Day French tricolour to Jean-Paul Sartre chin-stroker.
Tilda's just a darling
While Bella and Spike did sass, Tilda Swinton does class like no other. She was ubiquitous at Cannes, appearing in five films and bringing her white duke androgynous cool to some wonderful "clothes that my friends made for me", as she put it.
Jonathan Anderson of Loewe created a white apostolic robe for her Memoria press conference, adorned with feathers in the colours of Colombia, where the movie was shot.
Ten minutes, 400 metres and a costume change later, Swinton was accepting the Palm Dog Award for bBest Canine Performance at Cannes on behalf of her spaniels.
As the red collar was fastened around her neck, knees of every gender and none wobbled.
Her dogs feature alongside her and her daughter Honor in the two acclaimed The Souvenir films by British director Joanna Hogg.
Honor even raided her mum's wardrobe for vintage pieces for the film.
Take a look through the photo gallery below to see more from 'The French Dispatch' premiere:
Tears from Stone
Sharon Stone cried a river at Cannes. And we can't say we blame her. The famously brainy star of Basic Instinct was given one of France's highest cultural honours at the festival.
She famously attended the premiere of The Story of My Wife in a bucolic Dolce & Gabbana creation. The off-shoulder gown, which trailed reams of sky blue tulle, was adorned with exaggerated applique blooms, giving her the appearance of a Disney princess who stepped off-screen.
"This is what dreams are made of," Stone, 63, captioned a shot of herself on the red carpet, which she posted to Instagram.
Take a look through the photo gallery below for more of Stone and others on day nine of the festival:
Grey power
Notting Hill actress Andie MacDowell may no longer be big box office material but she proved that older stars still shine by showing off her lockdown grey hair.
The American stole much of the opening night attention with her glorious mane.
As the trending #SilverSisters hashtag proved, she looked amazing.
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
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.”
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
