UAE at 50: 15 landmark moments in the union's history

The Emirates has come a long way in just a few decades

The Founding President, Sheikh Zayed raises the flag at Union House in Dubai, December 2, 1971, marking the unification of the UAE. Courtesy: Al Ittihad

The UAE dirham was launched in 1973. Pawan Singh / The National

Sheikh Zayed and Queen Elizabeth II at the 1979 inauguration of Le Meridien Abu Dhabi. During the visit, the Queen also inaugurated Dubai World Trade Centre. Courtesy: Le Meridien

Abu Dhabi Airport, pictured here in 2015 and designed by French architect Paul Andreu. It opened in 1982 and replaced Al Bateen. Courtesy: Abu Dhabi Airports

Emirates' first flight took off on October 25, 1985, to the Pakistani city of Karachi. Aviation would never be the same again.

The UAE football team at Giuseppe Meazza stadium in San Siro, Italy, before their World Cup Group D first round match with West Germany in 1990. It was the first time the UAE appeared at the tournament. AFP

Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, Ruler of Dubai. Sheikh Rashid was known as the father of modern Dubai and passed away in 1990. Keystone Features / Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Sheikh Zayed reviews UAE troops who took part in Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait, 1991. Courtesy: Al Ittihad

The Burj Al Arab being built in January 1996. The hotel opened a few years later.

Police control crowds at the funeral for Sheikh Zayed in 2004. Rabih Moghrabi / AFP

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was completed in 2007. Ali Hassan / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Burj Khalifa a year before it opened in 2010. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the UAE delegates celebrate winning the Expo 2020 bid for Dubai in Paris in 2013. Antoine Antoniol / Getty Images

Pope Francis arrives to lead a mass at Zayed Sport City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, 2019. It was the first papal visit to the country. EPA

Hundreds of thousands of people attended the mass. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces celebrate with staff at Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre after Hope enters the orbit of Mars in February, 2021. Rashid Al Mansoori / Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Related: Sheikh Khalifa declares start of Year of the 50th

When Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, took over as Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966 the scale of the task was immense.

Two years later the British announced it was withdrawing from the Gulf and uncertainty filled the air.

But Sheikh Zayed grasped what US civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, had described as the "fierce urgency of now".

He dealt with the UK withdrawal from the Gulf in 1968 with tact and oversaw the long discussions that led to the creation of the UAE in 1971.

And since then, as this collection of photographs show, the pace of change only became more dizzying.

A few years before, Abu Dhabi had relied chiefly on pearling but by 1973 the UAE had its own currency and global leaders were visiting soon after.

Modern airports were built by the world's best architects on the back of the oil boom, while in 1985 Emirates Airline was launched and changed the face of the world's aviation sector.

By 1990, less than 20 years after the UAE was formed its football team would appear at the World Cup for the first time. But Sheikh Zayed did not stop there. He was committed to gender equality, humanitarian aid and preserving nature. When he passed away in 2004 it was no surprise that western media assessed him as a man in a hurry.

These photographs only show some of the important moments over the past 50 years but the pace of change was felt across the country.

In Dubai, new marinas and hotels were built, while the world's tallest building opened in 2010 - a record it holds to this day. New developments across all sectors lifted the lives of Emiratis and residents.

By 2021 the country has sent a probe to Mars - capping a remarkable rise over five decades.

Now the country prepares to celebrate its Golden Jubilee - but if the past tells us anything, it is that the UAE's leaders won't stop laying the groundwork for the next 50.