Abu Dhabi is about to become one of the “most magical places on Earth” after it was announced that the first Disney theme park in the Middle East will be built in the UAE capital.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be built on Yas Island by Miral, with Disney leading the creative design and operational oversight.
Explained: Everything we know about Disneyland Abu Dhabi, opening date to jobs
The announcement was made by Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), and Disney chief executive Bob Iger at the W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island on Wednesday and follows a strategic partnership agreement between Miral and the Walt Disney Company.
The park "will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati, an oasis of extraordinary Disney entertainment that is at the crossroads of the world", Iger said.
In a recorded message played at the launch, he said: "In Disney's 102-year history, there have been many defining moments and countless achievements. Today, we celebrate another thrilling moment, the creation of a new Disney theme park resort coming to Abu Dhabi."
Al Mubarak described Disneyland Abu Dhabi as a "whole new world of imagination" and "an experience that will inspire generations across the region and the world".
"The seventh Disney theme park resort destination represents a new frontier in theme park innovations," said D'Amaro. The Abu Dhabi attraction will be the "most advanced and interactive destination" in Disney's portfolio, he added.
"The location of our park is incredibly unique," added D'Amaro said. He described it as "anchored by beautiful waterfront, which will allow us to tell our stories in completely new ways".
A two-and-a-half minute video was shown to announce the new theme park, showing clips from some of Disney’s most famous franchises, including The Lion King, Moana, Star Wars and Marvel films.
The park announcement came ahead of a Disney earnings call. Speaking to investors, Iger said of the choice of location: "We did study the region very carefully, and we know we had many opportunities.
"Obviously, building a theme park in a location is a huge endorsement of the location."
"Everywhere we looked, we were convinced that this was a perfect place for us," he added. "Of all the places that we could choose from, there did not seem to be any place that is better than this."
Disney shares jumped 10.3 per cent to $101.64 at 6.26pm UAE time on Wednesday, following the Disneyland Abu Dhabi announcement.
An opening date has yet to be confirmed, but Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairperson Josh D'Amaro told Reuters that a project of this scale could take a year or two to design and another four to six years to build.
The new park will join other major attractions on the island, including Ferrari World, Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld.
A launch party was held at the W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island later in the day. The glitzy event featured a 9,000-drone show and fireworks spectacle at Yas Links. Grammy-nominated pianist Lang Lang performed alongside Emirati singer Rashed Alnuaimi, West End singer Kerry Ellis and classical singer Sonya Balsara.
Global celebrities were also at the event including actor Tyrese Gibson, supermodel Naomi Campbell, Lebanese pop star Nancy Ajram, blogger Chiara Ferragni and actor Ed Westwick.
Disney locations around the world
In a major milestone for the region, the Disney theme park will be the first to open in the Middle East. It will be the company’s first all-new location since the Shanghai Disney Resort opened in 2016.
The company has 12 parks across six destinations in California, Florida, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. In North America, there are four parks at Walt Disney World, Florida, and two parks at Disneyland Resort, California. In Asia, there are two parks at Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan, and one park at both Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort in China. Disneyland Paris in France, a resort with two parks, is the only one in Europe.
Florida's Walt Disney World is the largest of the six resorts. There are four parks – Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom – and two water parks – Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach – in addition to more than 25 hotels. The California resort has two parks: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. Disneyland in California was the first Disney park to open in 1955.
Tokyo Disney Resort is home to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. The former became the first Disney theme park outside the United States when it opened in 1983. In Asia, it was followed by Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005 and Shanghai Disneyland in 2016.
Disneyland Paris opened in 1992 and comprises Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park.
What is the difference between Disneyland and Disney World?
Traditionally, Disneyland is one park. It is the name of the original park in Anaheim, California, as well as flagship parks in each of the destinations, apart from Florida. In 2001, when Disney California Adventure opened, Disneyland lent its name to the overall resort, becoming Disneyland Resort.
Disney World is the name for the collection of four parks near Orlando, Florida.
Disney in the UAE
The announcement of a resort in Abu Dhabi follows Disney’s growing interest in the country. In March, the first stand-alone Disney Store opened at Yas Mall, followed shortly by a flagship shop in Dubai Mall.
Although no details have been released about which rides or lands will be included, there’s hope that popular Disney franchises such as Marvel, Star Wars and Toy Story will be included.
Last year, more than 38 million visitors visited Yas Island, 10 per cent more than the previous year, and theme park visits grew by 20 per cent.
In addition to the Disney attraction, there are plans to expand Yas Waterworld and add new rides to Ferrari World and Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi.
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDirect%20Debit%20System%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sept%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20with%20a%20subsidiary%20in%20the%20UK%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elaine%20Jones%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
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Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
57%20Seconds
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Top%2010%20most%20competitive%20economies
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
UAE rugby in numbers
5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons
700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams
Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams
Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season
Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Arctic Monkeys
Tranquillity Base Hotel Casino (Domino)
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.”
'Will%20of%20the%20People'
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ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
