Dubai's 'QE2' to stage live screening of King Charles's coronation

The coronation of Britain's King Charles III is to be screened live on Dubai's Queen Elizabeth II floating hotel anchored at Port Rashid on Saturday, May 6.

It will be the third historic royal event in British history to draw a crowd on board the ocean liner, now retired in Dubai.

Live screening of King Charles’s coronation follows the events staged on the luxury vessel to mark the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in May, followed by her funeral procession four months later.

Large screens will be set up inside the ship’s ballroom and other dining venues to allow guests to watch the coronation day’s events.

"We're thrilled to be able to offer our guests the chance to watch this historic moment live," said Ferghal Purcell, general manager of the QE2.

"We believe that this will be a once-in-a-lifetime event and we wanted to create a special atmosphere for our guests to enjoy it in."

The Queen's Room, one of the ship's grandest spaces, will serve a British-themed buffet while a three-course buffet will be offered at the Queen’s Grill.

The ship’s Golden Lion pub, the oldest in Dubai, will serve traditional British dishes while broadcasting the ceremony on several screens.

The coronation service at Westminster Abbey conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will begin at 2pm UAE time and be attended by about 2,000 guests from around the world.

King Charles’s procession will carry the monarch and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey inside the diamond jubilee stage coach.

The royal couple will then travel back via Parliament Square in the 260-year-old gold state coach, along Whitehall, around Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and down The Mall back to Buckingham Palace.

For the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, crowds filled the vessel's dining rooms and corridors to take in a significant moment in history, with similar numbers expected to visit the QE2 for next month's momentous coronation.

“We are delighted to be supporting the Queen Elizabeth II royal event,” said Visit Britain’s interim deputy director Carol Maddison.

“As the world turns its attention to the historic coronation, we’ve got a fantastic opportunity to highlight Great Britain’s world-renowned attractions, culture and heritage.

“Our latest research shows the draw of Britain’s history and heritage in driving inbound tourism and our renowned heritage, royal legacy and pomp and pageantry are proven tourism draws.”

UK prepares for royal coronation - in pictures

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.”