The UAE’s Walk to Mars campaign is a moonshot that could improve public well-being

Both Mars and the two numerals – 54 – hold special places in the nation’s minds. Getty

The countdown clock on the Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi 2026 site ticked below 50 days this week, with the large-scale sporting festival due to begin on February 6. Organisers promise to celebrate the spirit of “lifelong sports participation” at the days-long event, which is being hosted in the Middle East for the first time.

The games, which will be staged at more than 20 venues in Abu Dhabi and around the emirate, have been described by organisers as a “celebration of sport, camaraderie and competition” for thousands of participants in dozens of disciplines, with a minimum age requirement of 25 years old in some events, rising to 30 years old in most competitions.

The related Walk to Mars plan, announced at the beginning of November about 100 days before the games are due to open, is designed to encourage people in the UAE to collectively walk, run, cycle and swim 54 million kilometres, or the distance between Earth and Mars when the two planets are judged to be in close approach to each other.

Both Mars and those two numerals – 54 – hold special places in the nation’s minds. In February 2021, the UAE became the first Arab nation and only the fifth country in the world to successfully send a spacecraft to the Red Planet’s orbit, the culmination of a years-long project delivered with technical and scientific aplomb. Residents will not need reminding that the UAE celebrated the 54th anniversary of its union earlier this month.

Organisers said at the Walk to Mars project launch that the initiative seeks to promote well-being and to mark the Year of Community, which will soon draw to a close.

Minister of Education Sarah Al Amiri said that the campaign “embodies the spirit of the continual pursuit of progress that distinguishes the UAE. Every step we take is not merely a distance covered, but an investment in our health … through this journey, we affirm that ambition begins with each individual and their ability to move, learn and grow”.

So, will the planets align for this initiative and can this health-related moonshot prove successful?

Quite possibly, if this week’s Abu Dhabi Festival of Health is anything to go by. Thousands turned out at the festival to sample fitness activities and health screenings on Hudayriyat Island. The organisers told The National that the event had acted as a “catalyst, encouraging people to reflect on their daily habits and feel confident taking the next steps towards healthier living”.

The Walk to Mars campaign fits into the same pattern of reflection and action, seeking to inculcate good habits and convince us to develop better health and well-being outcomes.

To an extent, the enormous target the project imparts is irrelevant. It is the intent and the ambition that matters most.

We know that even a few minutes of moderate activity every day, for instance, such as a brisk walk, helps reduce or eliminate several health risks and go a long way towards addressing issues such as obesity and diabetes. If the Walk to Mars encourages change even among a few people, it will have served a portion of its purpose.

Intriguingly, some of the pathways for future success of community campaigns are being established through Abu Dhabi’s long-term liveability and infrastructure improvement plans.

Abu Dhabi announced the expansion of its years-long Dh42 billion Liveability Strategy in September. The scheme has already delivered a raft of sports courts and parks across the city, as well as many kilometres of walking paths and cycling tracks. Hudayriyat Island, sometimes described as a multi-sports megaproject, has become a key asset, too, with more facilities opening each year. By providing the infrastructure for a more active life, the city is creating the conditions for progress.

To an extent, the target is irrelevant. It is the intent and the ambition that matters most

The experiences of other cities are instructive, too.

A generation ago, Oklahoma City was regarded as one of the most obese metropolitan areas in America. To attempt to turn that tide and promote healthier living, then-mayor Mick Cornett led a mass participation campaign, challenging residents to lose 450,000 kilograms, promoted in the city with the more eye-catching imperial measured goal of losing a million pounds.

Mr Cornett found urban planning played a key role. In Oklahoma City’s case, the previously car-centric nature of the city was reconfigured in more pedestrian-friendly ways because, in Mr Cornett’s words, prior to that “people were unable to walk from one place to another, even if they were willing to”.

The city discovered that better pedestrian infrastructure and bike trails could do some of the work to nudge people in the right direction. It and other regeneration projects also spurred economic growth and revitalised the downtown. In 2028, the city will serve as a satellite host city for the Los Angeles Olympics.

And those might be the key takeaways for the Abu Dhabi campaign. First, don’t be surprised if the walk to Mars calls in at some interesting and inspiring places along the way to its far-off destination point. And second, as the campaign states, every step makes a difference.