A floating lake and drone-launched fireworks have been planned for the UAE's flagship show for the official 50th National Day celebrations in Hatta.
The creative performance will take place on a floating stage within a special lake built in the middle of Hatta Dam. The display will describe the enduring relationship between the Emirati people and nature.
The whole show floats, the audience floats
Es Devlin,
UAE 50th National Executive team
Especially composed songs and poetry, fireworks, light displays and exciting water projections will add to the sense of occasion.
A huge team has worked on the live event, which will take place on December 2 for an invited audience and online. Additional ticketed shows will take place from December 4 until December 12.
Work started on the project 142 days ago, and 1,400 workers from 100 countries have put in 1,500,000 hours to build the floating stage.
The theatrical experience will focus on the relationship between people and nature, and the ties between Emiratis, their homeland and the environment.
The show will take visitors on a journey through the land’s history in the lead-up to the inception of the union and across the 50 years that followed.
Researchers looked into four different environments in the UAE, and studied the flora and fauna that are widespread in the country.
They also looked at how people used to live, their livelihoods and their folklore, said Saeed Al Suwaidi, head of research from Bani & Al Culture, a research agency that focuses on culture, art and creativity.
"We sat also down with the elderly, who told stories of historical figures who had an indirect relationship with nature," he said.
Shaikha Al Ketbi and Es Devlin, the artistic directors of the UAE 50th National Day Executive team, said the show is designed to express Emirati culture through performance.
Deirat Al-Duroor Wa Al-Tawala’a, an astronomical system related to zodiacal and climatic conditions, was a source of inspiration, Ms Devlin said.
The Duroor system divides the days of the year into 36 sections, with each section including 10 days known as “Dur”.
This system allowed people to know the appropriate times for planting and harvesting, climatic variables such as winds and rain, the breeding seasons of fish and appropriate times for fishing, as well as the migration of wild birds and sea birds.
Al-Duroor calculations are linked with the rise of the Suhail star.
"The ancient Duroor system, which really was from the earliest times, shows evidence that Emiratis and the planet have been coexisting as instinctive engineers from the very beginnings of time," said Ms Devlin, who also worked on the 49th National Day event.
"So a symbiotic relationship with the weather, with the time of year, with the constellations, with the tides has always been something that's been at the heart of Emirati culture and practice.
"The show aims to look at the very deep past of this, while looking ahead to a future in which this could help with some of the crises we currently face."
A ground-breaking stage
The technical challenges the team faced in building the stage will add to the drama of the spectacle.
"What's extraordinarily special about this show is not only the fact that it is a stage that is set up in the middle of the Hatta dam, floating in this beautiful landscape, but it also has introduced so much new technology in terms of pyrotechnics and water projections," Ms Al Ketbi said.
The dam is so deep, the team were required to build a floating lake on top of the water – something that has never been done before.
"The whole show floats, the audience floats," Ms Devlin said.
"We've explored some new ways of using less pyrotechnics to elevate the fireworks into the air. So we're using drones to lift the firework to a height, and then we use a combination of drone and firework to create a new illusion, that I certainly haven't worked with before.
"In addition, we're creating projections in mid-air through the use of water screens, as well as a huge sculptural element that again is floating. So all of these things are pushing engineering to its limits here in Hatta."
A musical celebration
New music, songs and poetry have been composed to celebrate the Year of the 50th, and an orchestra will perform the new works.
Mohammed Al Ahmed, the music composer from the organisational team, said they have focused this year on the works of Al Nadba and Al Ruwah.
Al Nadba is a famous cultural dance in the UAE, particularly in Ras Al Khaimah while Al Ruwah involves dance and music in which men play drums that are often made from sidr trees.
"There are many Emirati arts; the role of the team here is to fuse these Emirati forms of art with international music," Mr Al Ahmed said.
"The role of the music team is to introduce you in a way that will surprise you."
"We will hear other performances, such as Al Ayala, Al Harbiya, Sea Hadwat and arts related to agriculture."
Watch the show
Tickets for the open-air shows can be brought from the UAE National Day's official website.
Visitors will need to show proof that they are fully vaccinated or must have a negative PCR test result from 72 hours before the event.
The show starts at 5pm and finishes at 6pm, although visitors are advised to arrive 20 minutes early. The cost of tickets is Dh300. Each performance can seat around 400 people.
How to get there
Getting to Hatta involves a journey of about 90 minutes by car from Dubai; the Sharjah-Kalba route is typically the fastest.
From Abu Dhabi, it is about a two-and-a-half-hour road trip. If you are coming by public transport, you will need to get to Al Sabkha Bus Station in Dubai where you can hop on the E16 bus. The bus takes a little more than two hours to reach Hatta. There are several hotels and resorts where visitors can stay.
UAE National Day celebration to take place in Hatta - in pictures
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
RACECARD
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Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Maqam, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Mamia Al Reef, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
3.15pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner: Jaahiz, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
Winner: Qanoon, Szczepan Mazur, Irfan Ellahi.
4.15pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Cup Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 1,700m.
Winner: Philosopher, Tadhg O’Shea, Salem bin Ghadayer.
54.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m
Winner: Jap Al Yassoob, Fernando Jara, Irfan Ellahi.
Scoreline
Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 18' pen)
Juventus 2 (Dybala 4', Higuain 80')
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
THE%20SWIMMERS
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'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
Michael Beckley, Cornell Press
Brief scoreline:
Crystal Palace 2
Milivojevic 76' (pen), Van Aanholt 88'
Huddersfield Town 0
Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
