Groove on the Grass returned to Dubai for a 12th year on Saturday night, thrilling fans of deep house and techno and drawing some of the finest acts around.
Bathed in neon light and with Dubai Marina as a backdrop, Emirates Golf Club was the perfect venue for the spectacle that was a great spot to kick off the winter party season.
This year's festival was a whole month earlier than last November's, which made for a steamy night under the autumn humidity. But the change of date also meant that many of the acts were hot off the plane from late summer performances in party destinations such as Ibiza.
Groove's main stage hosted headliner Ash, who delivered a high-energy blast of house and techno in a captivating mix of electronic beats and energy as part of his Self-Discovery tour which he'll now take to Europe, before returning to Jeddah in November.
French electronic music composer Viken Arman's mid-evening set took fans on a spiritual journey that could have almost transported the crowd to the laid-back beaches of Goa. Emerging starlets Jamiie and Fiona Kraft, fresh off the Balearic dance circuit and performances at Black Coffee's night at mega club Hi Ibiza, closed out the main stage in the early hours.
Groove on the Grass's grungier second venue, Groove Arena, made for a more intimate setting with fans packed into an illuminated tent. Trio Honeytrap drew in a crowd looking for heavier beats, while Margaret Dygas, a minimalist DJ and resident of Berlin's Panorama Bar, took the audience into the later evening. Rhadoo, a star of Romanian techno, headlined with a hypnotic performance that ran late into the night – far later than this tired dad was around for.
Groove's stage set-up has grown in sophistication over the years, with pulsating screens and a light show that can be seen far and wide. The promoter says it has introduced more than 180 artists to the region, and expanded from its anchor annual event, earning a loyal following among the Emirates' electronic music fans. Local fashion brands rallied for retail slots at the Festival's Ripe Market and Cosmic Market.
Groove's Ras Al Khaimah festival in February – billed as an escape from the height of Dubai's tourist season – drew hundreds to the Dunes Desert Resort campsite for two days of musical performances, fashion stalls and art exhibits.
Most recently, organisers have branched out to Saudi Arabia, where the live music scene is booming. Two big announcements in recent weeks demonstrate that the kingdom is firmly on the radar of established music promotors.
On Friday, Groove will set up shop in Riyadh's Jax Viewpoint in Diriyah hosting Satori, Mano Le Tough and Saudi duo Dish Dash, among others. Groove's most recent Riyadh event was in Al Ammaria Village in February.
And on November 8, Ash, the festival will host Germany's Konstantin Sibold, Dish Dash, pioneering Saudi DJ Cosmicat and Groove founder Deian in King Abdullah Economic City's Juman Park, a dazzling setting on a peninsula that juts out into the Red Sea.
The Kingdom's entertainment market is forecast to surge from $2.5 billion this year, to $4.2 billion in 2029, according to consultancy firm Oxford Business Group.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
AT%20A%20GLANCE
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UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
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The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
%3Cp%3EBarcelona%20%20v%20Manchester%20United%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EJuventus%20v%20Nantes%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ESporting%20Lisbon%20v%20Midtjylland%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EShakhtar%20Donetsk%20v%20Rennes%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EAjax%20v%20Union%20Berlin%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EBayer%20Leverkusen%20v%20Monaco%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ESevilla%20v%20PSV%20Eindhoven%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ESalzburg%20v%20Roma%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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