Meet 11-year-old Mira Singh, the young star of Expo 2020 Dubai

FULL VIDEO INTERVIEW: Mira Singh on her Expo 2020 Dubai fame: 'My life has changed'

She captured hearts all around the world as the unofficial star of the Dubai Expo 2020 opening ceremony.

Dubai-born Mira Singh was given the part of a young girl whose journey creates the Expo story at the heart of the show.

The 11-year-old is a showbiz veteran, starting as a child model at the age of six and more recently featuring in commercials for Aldar Properties and Ikea.

Mira has “always loved” performing.

She’s also appeared in a National Day show and is on the shortlist for commemorations for the 50th anniversary of the UAE later this year.

A pupil at JSS International School at Jumeirah Village Circle, Mira’s father is Indian and her mother is from Belarus.

Keeping up her studies meant rehearsals took place in the evenings. “It is sometimes tricky fitting it all in around my schooling, but my principal is very understanding,” Mira said.

She’s also a versatile performer. “I enjoy all types of dance – Indian dance, contemporary dance and hip-hop, and I also love to sing and act,” she said.

Her part in the opening ceremony is described by its creators as “a young local girl observing the challenges of today and representing hope for the future”.

On stage at Al Wasl Plaza, her role included climbing a ladder for a dazzling sequence that showed the creation of the world and guiding blind opera singer Andrea Bocelli on stage for the finale alongside Ellie Goulding, Angelique Kidjo and Andra Day, among others.

“I’ve not only met lots of famous people, but have also been lucky enough to work with them, which has been so exciting. It’s an opportunity I am incredibly grateful for,” Mira said.

Now the show is over, Mira wants to spend more time with her friends and visit the world's fair where she says the UAE, China, Egypt and Russia pavilions are top of her list. “And of course India and Belarus.”

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

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.

While you're here

David Powell: Thanks to Brexit, support for independence is growing among Scots

Damien McElroy: Johnson must take heed to Churchill's comments on Irish divisions

Gavin Esler: For British territories, Brexit will amount to being cut off from Westminster

Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Meet 11-year-old Mira Singh, the young star of Expo 2020 Dubai

Dubai-born performer stole hearts everywhere

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Sole survivors

While you're here

Libya's&nbsp;Gold

GAC GS8 Specs

Libya's Gold