Expo 2020 Dubai has designed a diverse line-up of events and entertainment that will attract families, artists, professionals and businesses to Dubai.
Performances by school choirs, hip-hop dance face offs, the Russian Bolshoi ballet and critical discussions on water scarcity figure in the six-month calendar.
After sunset, sound and light stories about the Arab region and nature will be projected on the 360° translucent Al Wasl dome surface.
Laser shows, special effects and fireworks will also light up the night sky for events.
A detailed schedule released by Expo 2020 Dubai lists special programmes when the World Fair opens in Dubai in less than three months.
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first global event amid the pandemic to welcome international guests with precautionary measures in place.
Across the Dubai South site, social distancing regulations, mandatory face masks, frequent deep cleaning and vaccines for all Expo staff and international participants are aimed to ensure the first World Expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia will run uninterrupted over 182 days.
Every morning from October 1, thousands of students from schools in the UAE will host song and dance shows inside the massive Al Wasl dome.
In the afternoons, visitors seated in green areas surrounding the dome can watch international choirs and dance troupes as part of a Music in the Garden series.
Colourful parades will engage audiences in the Ghaf Avenue, a shaded area near the disc-shaped Sustainability Pavilion that is entirely operated by solar energy.
Every evening, live entertainment from international artistes will include opera, ballet and theatre.
Visitors will be introduced to rhythms from the region during two-hour Khaleeji-led “jam sessions” once a month, called Jalsat Nights @Expo.
The celebrations will continue late on Thursdays and Fridays with musical events from 10.30pm.
Monthly festivals will train the spotlight on different dance styles from Hawaii, the Philippines and the Caribbean.
Daily fitness sessions, from runs in the park to cycling, will encourage visitors to add exercise to their everyday routine.
People can meet their football and cricket heroes, and see the basketball skills of the Harlem Globetrotters in action.
Chess greats will arrive in November for the World Chess Championship, and workshops on space, women’s empowerment and disability rights will be held during themed weeks.
The entertainment will include Oscar winning composer AR Rahman’s Firdaus Orchestra, the Arab world’s celebrated singer Ragheb Alama and Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi.
The National has picked out some highlights of what the Expo has described as the "world’s biggest cultural gathering".
October
Celebrations have been planned for the National Day of France on October 2. Elaborate functions are planned for special days of more than 190 participating countries.
Female leaders who have fought to save the planet will be honoured at the Women’s Pavilion.
The annual Water, Energy, Technology and Environment (WETEX) exhibition will take place in October, as will the Dubai Solar Show.
The Australia pavilion is planning to host a cricket exhibition match.
Expo Space Week will cover exploring new frontiers, the Red Planet, space pioneers and applying space lessons to fight climate change.
November
Urban and Rural development week will focus on Africa and infrastructure development.
The UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations will be held from November 3 to November 6.
World Chess Championship starts on November 24 until December 16
December
UAE’s Golden Jubilee festivities to continue with National Day celebrations on December 2.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities will be marked on December 3 with meetings that include the youth.
A series of lectures on poetry and comedy in mid-December.
Special Christmas days will be celebrated from December 20 to 25.
January
Travel and connectivity week from January 9 to 15 will include sessions on unusual destinations for travellers.
Health and wellness week will spill into February with sports workshops for schools.
February
Valentine’s Day is among special days, as well as Halloween, Arabic Language Day, World Poetry Day and Mother's Day, with events held in a specially built amphitheatre.
Food agriculture and livelihoods week will focus on growing food sustainably to meet future demands, food security, waste and healthy eating habits.
March
Street theatre and circus artists from Hungary during the country’s national day.
The water week in late March will emphasise how to protect resources and water management solutions.
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
Dubai World Cup draw
1. Gunnevera
2. Capezzano
3. North America
4. Audible
5. Seeking The Soul
6. Pavel
7. Gronkowski
8. Axelrod
9. New Trails
10. Yoshida
11. K T Brave
12. Thunder Snow
13. Dolkong
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ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Read more about the coronavirus
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
