Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed attended the opening of Al Wasl Plaza - the 'beating heart' of Expo 2020 Dubai.
They led a delegation of dignitaries at the celebratory event on Wednesday as the countdown to the spectacular world's fair continues to gather pace.
Sheikh Mohammed, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said the sprawling plaza will be the meeting place for the world when the event begins in October.
He said tens of thousands of employees are working tirelessly to ensure the emirate is ready for what is being billed as the 'greatest show on earth'.
Sheikh Mohammed shared footage of the grand ceremony on Twitter.
"One huge dome will be the beating heart of the Expo around which the world will meet from 192 countries. 38,000 employees continue day and night to achieve the largest global gathering in 2020. Dubai and the UAE are waiting for the world," said Sheikh Mohammed.
"We will celebrate the accomplishments of the last 50 years. Thanks to the efforts of UAE citizens and residents, as well as all those who have contributed to its success and prosperity, Expo 2020 will mark the start of new 50-year phase of leadership and achievements."
It was announced earlier this month that construction on the crown jewel of the plaza - the world’s largest 360-degree projection dome - was complete.
The steel trellis that makes up Al Wasl's dome, with sand-coloured screens, has been fitted with more than 200 projectors and is wide enough to fit two Airbus A380s.
Al Wasl – meaning connection in English – is the World’s Fair centrepiece, connecting the districts, and will host its main ceremonies.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, said Expo 2020 will be an opportunity to showcase the achievements of the Emirates with the world.
“Through Expo 2020, we will show the world how our union was the starting point for our development journey, and how our founding fathers established the robust foundations necessary for sustainable development and progress,' said Sheikh Mohamed.
"We will also have an opportunity to demonstrate how the spirit of collaboration is embedded deep in our national ethos and serves as a means for progress and development.
"The world will also be able to better understand the achievements we have accomplished in the short period since our nation’s foundation, and will learn about our traditions and heritage, our diversity and our experience of peaceful co-existence.”
The Vice President of Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince were joined on their Expo tour by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and other high-ranking officials.
Expo 2020 Dubai - which will run from October 20 until April 10 of next year - is set to attract 25 million visitors from across the globe.
Organisers expect 70 per cent of visitors to be drawn from outside the Emirates.
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
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Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz
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TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
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12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)
2pm Formula One final practice
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6.40pm Formula 2 race (31 laps)
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SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202-litre%204-cylinder%20turbo%20and%203.6-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20235hp%20and%20310hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E258Nm%20and%20271Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh185%2C100%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1
Calvin Harris
Columbia
