Extreme sports enthusiasts were treated to gravity-defying performances by professional motorcyclists and car drifters at the opening of Extreme Weekends on Thursday night in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi.
The show, part of the annual Sheikh Zayed Festival, will be performed four days a week, from Wednesday to Saturday.
Held at a customised area within the festival grounds, Extreme Weekends will feature prominent international stars and performers who will treat audiences to some impressive stunts and routines for an entire month.
Extreme Weekends shows will be performed from 7.30pm to 8.30pm until February 25.
What is the Sheikh Zayed Festival?
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Fireworks light up the sky on the opening day of the Sheikh Zayed Festival in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National -
A spectacular drone show unfolded on the opening day of the festival. -
The drone show was part of the opening entertainment at the festival. -
Crowds watch the drone show -
A light display at the cultural event at Al Wathba -
The event, which runs until March 18, is expected to attract two million visitors -
Fireworks on the opening day of the festival -
A young visitor enjoys a carnival ride at the event. Al Wathba is a 50-minute drive from Abu Dhabi city -
Spectacular illuminations at the festival -
The festival is named in honour of UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan -
A visitor makes a friend at the festival -
The glow garden features with more than 400,000 flowers imported from Holland -
All the fun of the fair at the festival -
Indian dancers at the Sheikh Zayed Festival. The event celebrates the UAE's diverse community -
The festival educates visitors about the legacy of the nation’s founder and the UAE’s arts, crafts, customs and food -
A member of the General Women's Union demonstrates traditional Emirati crafts to visitors -
Jewellery for sale at the Yemen pavilion. There are more than 25 country pavilions at the festival -
Musicians perform at the Yemen pavilion. The festival showcases cultures from the region and further afield -
Visitors can sample nuts and spices at the Yemen pavilion -
Young visitor Marzog, aged 3, meets a camel on the opening day of the Sheikh Zayed Festival in Al Wathba -
A visitors admires the Emirates Fountain lightshow, which features water spurting from 600 nozzles -
Visitors stroll beneath a spectacular canopy of light. The festival's theme is hayakum ― which means welcome -
Craftsman Abdullah demonstrates how to make a fishing net, a vital skill among locals in the past -
The Emirates Fountain, illuminated with a portrait of Sheikh Zayed and the colours of the national flag -
Traditional Emirati singing and dancing on the opening day of the Sheikh Zayed Festival in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi
Launched in November, the festival, which will be open for more than four months, is an annual event like no other in the UAE.
Named in honour of UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the festival celebrates the country’s history and cultural heritage, showcases the rich diversity of its traditions and educates visitors about the legacy of the nation’s founder and the UAE’s arts, crafts, customs and food.
Al Wathba, where the festival is being held, is a 50-minute drive from the Corniche in Abu Dhabi. It has been transformed into a celebratory ground where the UAE's achievements and its diverse community are highlighted.
The festival features numerous family-friendly events, as well as various cultural and entertainment activities. Organisers said this year's event ― held under the theme Hayakum, which means welcome ― is bigger than anything staged here before, with new and different features for visitors to enjoy.
Spread over 130,000 square metres, this year's event includes a haunted mansion, a flower glow garden with more than 400,000 flowers imported from Holland, a selfie street that hopes to break the Guinness World record for the number of pictures taken, a dessert museum, a childrens' amusement section with a 50-metre high Ferris wheel, go-karting, a crazy car district and a heritage village.
There are more than 25 country pavilions, among them Iran, India, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Oman, as well as some African nations.
There are also weekly fireworks displays every Saturday at 10pm.
Sheikh Zayed Festival runs every day from 4pm until 12am, including weekends. Entry tickets are Dh5 and available at zayedfestival.ae
