DUBAI // The delegates who assessed the UAE's bid to host Expo 2020 this week gained a very positive impression on their visit, their secretary general said yesterday.
Vicente Loscertales was speaking as the team from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which supervises world expos, completed its four-day enquiry mission to determine the feasibility of the bid.
“We have had a wonderful visit with well-organised meetings and serious reports and therefore our impression is good,” Mr Loscertales said.
But he made it clear his comments were not intended to prejudge the result of the mission or reveal what it would recommend.
“If you want a general impression which comes not from a professional enquiry mission but out of the heart, then out of the heart it is very positive,” Mr Loscertales said.
“The mission will now examine all the documents and answers and produce its report.”
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of the Higher Committee for Hosting the 2020 World Expo, said the delegates had witnessed Dubai's ability to welcome the world in 2020.
“If our country’s bid is successful, a world expo in Dubai will attract opportunities across the region and around the world,” Sheikh Ahmed said.
“A recent study by Oxford Economics analysing the economic impact of Dubai Expo 2020 concluded that the total economic output across the Dubai economy would amount to about €28.8?billion [Dh141.9bn] and create over 277,000 jobs between 2013 and 2021.
“Importantly, for every expo employee approximately 50 additional jobs will be sustained across the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
“Our expo will not only provide a significant boost to our national GDP, but will also leave a powerful legacy of a new international partnership, innovation and transformation for a generation to come in the UAE and the wider region beyond.”
Oxford Economics is a UK consultancy.
Dubai is one of five candidate cities bidding to host Expo 2020. BIE inspectors have conducted enquiry missions in two of the others – in Turkey and Thailand – and are due to visit Brazil and Russia soon.
“We’ve had a productive visit to the UAE,” said Steen Christensen, chairman of the mission. “We have been impressed by the country’s robust infrastructure and the level of national support for the bid.
“We have examined the project in its entire scale and scope, and here I wish to underline the purpose of the exercise was not to compare Dubai’s project with the four other candidates but to see whether the UAE project is viable and feasible and in line with the BIE regulations.
“I cannot and will not reveal our evaluation, but I can say that the project and the vision behind the project is clear and linked to the traditions and values of world expos.”
Mr Christensen, speaking at the Burj Al Arab to mark the end of the visit, said: “On a more personal note, I can say that the visit to Dubai has given me a very positive impression of the country and of the people, so in that regard it has been a very good and very enjoyable experience.”
Mr Loscertales said the delegates had been focusing on the technical aspects of the Dubai bid, which are set out in a 600-page dossier.
“Is the project viable, is it conforming with the rules, is the project feasible, is it not only supported by the authorities but by the population, is it good for the region and for the country, [will it] contribute to increase economic activity?” he said, outlining the questions the delegates sought to answer.
“All these elements are what we can consider the technical aspects, and these are what we are evaluating now.”
[ csimpson@thenational.ae ]
if you go
WITHIN SAND
Director: Moe Alatawi
Starring: Ra’ed Alshammari, Adwa Fahd, Muhand Alsaleh
Rating: 3/5
BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE
Director: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Joe Pantoliano
Rating: 3.5/5
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
Points tally
1. Australia 52; 2. New Zealand 44; 3. South Africa 36; 4. Sri Lanka 35; 5. UAE 27; 6. India 27; 7. England 26; 8. Singapore 8; 9. Malaysia 3
KEY DATES IN AMAZON'S HISTORY
July 5, 1994: Jeff Bezos founds Cadabra Inc, which would later be renamed to Amazon.com, because his lawyer misheard the name as 'cadaver'. In its earliest days, the bookstore operated out of a rented garage in Bellevue, Washington
July 16, 1995: Amazon formally opens as an online bookseller. Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought becomes the first item sold on Amazon
1997: Amazon goes public at $18 a share, which has grown about 1,000 per cent at present. Its highest closing price was $197.85 on June 27, 2024
1998: Amazon acquires IMDb, its first major acquisition. It also starts selling CDs and DVDs
2000: Amazon Marketplace opens, allowing people to sell items on the website
2002: Amazon forms what would become Amazon Web Services, opening the Amazon.com platform to all developers. The cloud unit would follow in 2006
2003: Amazon turns in an annual profit of $75 million, the first time it ended a year in the black
2005: Amazon Prime is introduced, its first-ever subscription service that offered US customers free two-day shipping for $79 a year
2006: Amazon Unbox is unveiled, the company's video service that would later morph into Amazon Instant Video and, ultimately, Amazon Video
2007: Amazon's first hardware product, the Kindle e-reader, is introduced; the Fire TV and Fire Phone would come in 2014. Grocery service Amazon Fresh is also started
2009: Amazon introduces Amazon Basics, its in-house label for a variety of products
2010: The foundations for Amazon Studios were laid. Its first original streaming content debuted in 2013
2011: The Amazon Appstore for Google's Android is launched. It is still unavailable on Apple's iOS
2014: The Amazon Echo is launched, a speaker that acts as a personal digital assistant powered by Alexa
2017: Amazon acquires Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, its biggest acquisition
2018: Amazon's market cap briefly crosses the $1 trillion mark, making it, at the time, only the third company to achieve that milestone
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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:
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
