The world’s first “universal museum” was born in London in 1759, when the doors of the British Museum opened to the public for the first time. Seeded with artefacts donated by Sir Hans Sloane, it set out to showcase all the world’s civilisations. Visitors have been drawn to its extraordinary collections of treasures ever since.
The appreciation of different cultures has never been more important. Nowhere is that truer than in our region where terrorist groups like ISIL have done such damage in recent years. Radicalised minds start from the position that only the tiniest slither of human history is worthy of celebration. Everything else should be destroyed.
Proving them wrong is why the UAE invested in the new Louvre Abu Dhabi. It is remarkable not only for the sublime architecture of the building, which juts off the shores of Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi’s emerging cultural quarter. It is also the first universal museum in the Arab world, and one of the very few outside the West.
With its mission to gather all of human history under one roof, this new wonder of the world is a direct descendant of the British Museum. But its ground-breaking approach to displaying the works takes the concept further. Museums have traditionally arranged objects by civilisation, region or period. In Abu Dhabi, the joint Emirati and French curatorial team present the history of art as a global continuum, rather than isolated episodes of brilliance.
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Louvre Abu Dhabi will bring art into our everyday lives
Louvre Abu Dhabi honours our universal civilisation
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Objects from all over the world are brought together so that visitors can appreciate connections across cultures and time. In one of the 12 galleries a visitor might encounter an ancient marker stone for pilgrims walking to Mecca displayed next to Christian reliquaries. European globes can be inspected next to maps made by Muslim navigators. A newly acquired Yemeni Torah can be admired next to a sixth-century Quran and a Gothic Bible. The beauty all three objects share will be obvious to any visitor.
As Emmanuel Macron, president of France, said at its inauguration, the museum is “a bridge between the continents that today some would like to divide”. In the words of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on the same evening: “We don’t just aim for a dialogue between civilisations, rather an alliance between civilisations”.
Respect for different cultures and religions is already a hallmark of Abu Dhabi, the capital of a diverse country that already has much to offer to tourists and international business people.
But the Louvre is not just for our foreign guests to enjoy. It will be equally important to our own citizens as we develop a knowledge economy less tethered to global energy markets. The museum’s outreach programme intends to bring as many people as possible from all of our seven emirates. The national syllabus has been updated to take greater account of art history and the practice of art.
The UAE can already stake a claim to being the cultural capital of the Middle East. Art Dubai now ranks among the world’s great international art fairs. Abu Dhabi Art is also developing fast. Emirati artists have been represented at the UAE pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 2009. The Louvre is just one part of the UAE’s investment in education and culture. More are on their way, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Zayed National Museum. The coming of the Arab world’s first universal museum is just the start of a cultural blossoming in the Gulf.
Sulaiman Almazroui is ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Court of St James’s in London
Men from Barca's class of 99
Crystal Palace - Frank de Boer
Everton - Ronald Koeman
Manchester City - Pep Guardiola
Manchester United - Jose Mourinho
Southampton - Mauricio Pellegrino
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Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
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The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):
British group
Coldplay
Foals
Bring me the Horizon
D-Block Europe
Bastille
British Female
Mabel
Freya Ridings
FKA Twigs
Charli xcx
Mahalia
British male
Harry Styles
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Michael Kiwanuka
Stormzy
Best new artist
Aitch
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Mabel
Sam Fender
Best song
Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care
Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up
Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant
Dave - Location
Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove
Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved
Tom Walker - Just You and I
Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger
Stormzy - Vossi Bop
International female
Ariana Grande
Billie Eilish
Camila Cabello
Lana Del Rey
Lizzo
International male
Bruce Springsteen
Burna Boy
Tyler, The Creator
Dermot Kennedy
Post Malone
Best album
Stormzy - Heavy is the Head
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
Dave - Psychodrama
Harry Styles - Fine Line
Rising star
Celeste
Joy Crookes
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Oscars in the UAE
The 90th Academy Awards will be aired in the UAE from 3.30am on Monday, March 5 on OSN, with the ceremony starting at 5am
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Last 10 NBA champions
2017: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-1
2016: Cleveland bt Golden State 4-3
2015: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-2
2014: San Antonio bt Miami 4-1
2013: Miami bt San Antonio 4-3
2012: Miami bt Oklahoma City 4-1
2011: Dallas bt Miami 4-2
2010: Los Angeles Lakers bt Boston 4-3
2009: Los Angeles Lakers bt Orlando 4-1
2008: Boston bt Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands
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