Expo 2020 Dubai is approaching a milestone 15 million visits after enjoying its biggest week yet.
More than 1.2 million visits were recorded over the past seven days, buoyed by top attractions such as a highly-anticipated performance by chart-topping British band Coldplay at Al Wasl Dome.
Other attractions included a star-studded tennis tournament featuring famous names such as John McEnroe and Kim Clijsters as well as a visit to the Serbian pavilion by the sport's top-ranked player, Novak Djokovic before his return to action in Dubai this week.
As of Monday, visit numbers stood at 14,719,277 — up from 13,457,400 the previous week.
Domestic visits have increased by 128 per cent in the past weeks, with international numbers up 19 per cent in the same period.
The introduction of the Dh50 Season Finale Pass to coincide with the Expo's final 50 days has already proved to be a hit.
It is the second week in a row that more than a million visits have been made to the mega event as the public make the most of the opportunity explore the sprawling site in its final weeks.
Expo will commemorate passing the 15-millon visit milestone by issuing a special stamp for its popular passports, saying “I am one of 15 million visitors”. The stamp will be available from Wednesday.
Organisers had initially set a target of 25 million visits before the start of the Expo.
The six-month extravaganza will close its doors on March 31 after an impressive run of crowd-pleasing concerts, guest appearances and memorable daily performances.
The international celebration of cultures, customs and innovation has offered a platform for countries to share their talents with the world.
The vast world's fair site is home to more than 200 pavilions, including 192 belonging to participating countries.
Some pavilions have clocked up more than one million visits alone, including the Indian and Saudi offerings.
Visitor numbers are expected to enjoy an even greater surge in the weeks to come, organisers believe.
"I think typically you do see expos get busier towards the end," said Sconaid McGeachin, senior vice president of communications following the release of last week's high visit numbers.
"We obviously have so many different activities that we expect to have high visitation for the remainder of the expo."
Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
RESULTS
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Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
RACECARD
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The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.