• Dubai Festival City Mall'sHalloween Run took place on Saturday, October 30. All Photos: Pawan Singh / The National
    Dubai Festival City Mall'sHalloween Run took place on Saturday, October 30. All Photos: Pawan Singh / The National
  • The family-friendly run encouraged all participants to come dressed in costumes
    The family-friendly run encouraged all participants to come dressed in costumes
  • The race included 2.5km and 5km routes
    The race included 2.5km and 5km routes
  • There were pit-stops along the way for guests to collect candy from staff and visitors
    There were pit-stops along the way for guests to collect candy from staff and visitors
  • A special Halloween-themed Image laser show took place at 30-minute intervals during the event
    A special Halloween-themed Image laser show took place at 30-minute intervals during the event
  • Dubai Festival City's Halloween Run was open to adults and children
    Dubai Festival City's Halloween Run was open to adults and children
  • Little runners dressed in costume
    Little runners dressed in costume
  • Spooky decor along the running route
    Spooky decor along the running route
  • Treats were handed out to everyone dressed in costume
    Treats were handed out to everyone dressed in costume
  • Participants dressed up in running-friendly Halloween costumes
    Participants dressed up in running-friendly Halloween costumes
  • Scenes from the spooky 'Imagine' laser show
    Scenes from the spooky 'Imagine' laser show
  • Spooks and scares at the Halloween Run
    Spooks and scares at the Halloween Run
  • Children cross the finish line at the one-of-a-kind Halloween Run
    Children cross the finish line at the one-of-a-kind Halloween Run
  • 'Squid Game' costumes proved to be popular at Halloween Run
    'Squid Game' costumes proved to be popular at Halloween Run
  • Halloween hampers handed out to the best-dressed at Halloween Run
    Halloween hampers handed out to the best-dressed at Halloween Run

Lifestyle

Wellbeing

The best costumes at Dubai Festival City Mall’s family-friendly Halloween Run

Participants were encouraged to dress up for tricks and treats at this fun fitness event

Janice Rodrigues
Janice Rodrigues

October 31, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

We’re at that rare time of the year when Halloween briefly intersects with the Dubai Fitness Challenge. And no event better encapsulates this quite like Dubai Festival City Mall's Halloween Run.

The spooktacular evening run took place on Saturday, in partnership with Race Me and Dubai Sports Council. Ghouls and ghosts of all ages and abilities were invited to compete, dressed to distress.

Participants were given the choice between two route options – a 2.5-kilometre fun run and a 5km race for more serious runners – taking them on the promenade area of Dubai Festival City, starting from Festival Bay to Marsa Plaza and back.

A number of runners from all age groups gathered from 6.30pm onwards, all dressed in their Halloween best, for the race that began at 8pm. This included everything from Squid Game costumes, superhero capes, to vampire and witch outfits.

Participants dressed up in costumes during the Halloween Run held at Dubai Festival City Mall, on October 30, 2021. Pawan Singh / The National
Participants dressed up in costumes during the Halloween Run held at Dubai Festival City Mall, on October 30, 2021. Pawan Singh / The National

The event took more than an hour, with the route featuring a number of spooky elements and decor – including a haunted tunnel. There were some sweet moments in between too, as the fun run included pit stops where participants could collect treats from spectators and staff.

For pictures of the terror-fuelled run, scroll through the gallery above.

Adding to the eerie vibe was the Imagine laser show, which had a Halloween-themed display running every 30 minutes during the event.

The Dubai Festival City Mall run concluded with a fancy dress prize, with winners getting a giant Halloween hamper for their effort. Winning costumes included that of a Squid Game character and a green witch.

Meanwhile, everyone wearing Halloween costumes was awarded a hat and a bag of sweets.

The Halloween Run was launched this year in an effort to "bring joy to everyone while also promoting a healthy lifestyle among residents and visitors". It's one of the many races and runs taking place in Dubai this season, including Dubai Festival City's Santa Run in December.

Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas) 

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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Updated: October 31, 2021, 9:49 AM
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