The crowd settle into the private cinema room with its plush red carpet, cosy grey armchairs and framed promo posters adorning the walls.
The screen lights up, the spotlights dim and the movie begins, with immersive surround sound transporting viewers to the heart of the action.
Moviegoers chomp down on popcorn, wrap themselves tightly against the February breeze and sink their feet into the sand because this isn’t any cinema room — this is the Palm Jumeirah’s West Crescent.
And, this isn’t reality — this is the metaverse.
On Thursday, a revolutionary "cineverse" event beamed 200 film buffs directly into a virtual cinema from the W Dubai — The Palm’s luxury beach.
The pop-up movie premiere was hosted to celebrate the launch of MContent, a metaverse crowdfunding platform designed to connect content creators with investors. Eight months after inception, it already claims to be worth more than $100 million.
As the VR headsets come off, eyes are wide and barnets ruffled as the well-heeled crowd imagine the benefits to their social media pages.
Supercar Blondie, one of MContent’s celebrity partners, talks animatedly with organisers while YouTube star Mo Vlogs gazes into the sunset, no doubt dreaming of futuristic videos to come.
But the virtual world is not only reserved for the world’s elite and according to MContent founder and chief executive Umair Masoom, everyone in the UAE will be leading an alternate life in the metaverse in a matter of months.
“I think by the end of the year the metaverse is going to be part of our everyday lives and for a lot of people it already is,” Masoom tells The National. “You can go to the extent of having your own characters within the metaverse and they could be programmed to speak any language.
“You can make friends, you can interact, you can buy a car — there are so many things happening in the metaverse already. It’s going to be a major change that affects everyone. It is possible to have an alternate life.”
Claiming to be the world's first blockchain and NFT-backed crowdfunding platform, MContent aims to give opportunities to content creators who would otherwise struggle to find funding.
The platform is supported by the leading UAE conglomerate Gargash Group in partnership with multi-firm network PricewaterhouseCoopers, while the original films at the premiere were produced by Dutch companies Insight TV and Villain Studios.
And, according to Masoom, his success is only possible because the Emirates matches his visionary nature.
“It all boils down to the leadership of Dubai,” he says. “These are people who dream big, really big, and that’s how they’ve created this whole space within a desert.
“Dubai is always the first to welcome anything new in the world and it’s all because of the country’s leadership. It’s about the environments they have created where young people are able to take risks and they’re encouraged to do so.”
Recently, metaverse apps have made headlines around the world with children’s charities slamming the “dangerous by design” technology, and Masoom, a father of two, admits that regulation of the metaverse concerns him.
“When something disruptive happens, there is always a good side and a bad side to it, which is why I absolutely agree that regulation is important,” he says. “In my opinion, that’s something that needs to be collaborated on by institutions and governments of the world. It’s not something that can be done in isolation by one entity.”
Like social media and online gaming before it, technological advancement is inevitable, as is the change to society that comes along with it — for better or worse.
“Web3 refers to the metaverse, Blockchain and NFTs and it’s coming faster than you think,” says Masoom. “It’s all accessible, it’s all around you. You don’t even necessarily need the VR equipment, you just need to buy the NFT.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
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Abu Dhabi GP starting grid
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
4 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
5 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
6 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
7 Romain Grosjean (Haas)
8 Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
9 Esteban Ocon (Force India)
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
11 Carlos Sainz (Renault)
12 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
13 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
14 Sergio Perez (Force India)
15 Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
16 Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
17 Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
18 Stoffe Vandoorne (McLaren)
19 Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
20 Lance Stroll (Williams)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERooh%20Afza%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20contains%20414%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETang%20orange%20drink%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%20300%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECarob%20beverage%20mix%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%20about%20300%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQamar%20Al%20Din%20apricot%20drink%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20saving%20contains%2061%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EVimto%20fruit%20squash%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%2030%20calories%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
