There were plenty of events and moments that had social media and the world talking about the UAE this year. And while some were always going to go viral, there were others that were unexpected.
From a fusion dessert created in Dubai to reality TV and concerts, here are some of the biggest viral moments in the UAE in 2024.
Fix Chocolate
One of the biggest food trends on social media this year was a kunafa-inspired chocolate bar from Dubai. The creation of British-Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda from Fix Dessert Chocolatier, the unique treat racked up more than 90 million views on TikTok. Influencers across the platform also shared videos trying the dessert or recreating their own versions at home.
The chocolate bar contains shredded filo pastry – a main ingredient in the traditional Arabic dessert kunafa – combined with pistachio cream and coated in rich milk chocolate.
Netflix show Heeramandi's UAE-born cast member
One of Netflix’s biggest hits this year was Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, an Indian Hindi-language period drama series created and directed by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
In addition to the attention to detail in the costumes, set design and dance sequences, the intriguing plot follows the lives of courtesans, known as tawaifs, in the historic red-light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore during a period of the Indian independence movement against the British.
Among the talented cast, one standout performance was that of Taha Shah Badussha, an Indian actor born in Abu Dhabi. He stars as Tajdar Baloch, a privileged nawab whose idealism and passion eventually leads him to join the rebellion for the country's independence.
In an interview with The National this year, Badussha said that growing up in the UAE helped him prepare for the world of acting and not give up on his dreams.
“Growing up in Abu Dhabi, and the UAE in general, made me an audience member first,” he says. “It made me appreciate stars when they came over here and when they did performances. Growing up over here made me dream big.”
Coldplay-mania comes to the Emirates
In the biggest UAE music news of the year, Coldplay announced that they were bringing their popular Music of the Spheres World Tour to Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi in 2025.
While many excited fans registered for the pre-sale tickets, not everyone was able to purchase them. At one point, the online waiting room had more than 100,000 fans trying to get tickets for their January 11 show. As a result of such high demand, the British band added more dates to their Abu Dhabi stop.
Coldplay will now perform four concerts in the capital. They will take place at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on January 9, 11, 12 and 14.
Love is Blind Habibi
The Arab adaptation of the popular Netflix reality dating series, Love is Blind Habibi was a huge hit regionally and internationally.
Following in the footsteps of the global show format, the series follows people searching for love, starting with conversations in pods where they can't see each other. After forming a connection, couples get engaged and then meet face-to-face, with the goal of getting married.
While the show was filmed in the UAE and tailored for Arabic audiences, it still resonated with many people around the world. The show highlighted themes such as family values, traditional versus modern relationships and the importance of emotional connections over appearances.
Some clips from the show went viral, particularly from contestant Nour El Haj, a Lebanese model whose outspoken opinions about relationship dynamics and expectations fuelled plenty of discussions on the show and on social media.
IIFAs in Abu Dubai
The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards 2024 returned to Abu Dhabi for the third year in a row. Bigger than ever, this year it was dubbed the IIFA Festival because the first night of the three-day event honoured the best of South Indian cinema. The second night focused on Bollywood and Hindi films and the third night was all-out musical concert IIFA Rocks.
Thanks to the star power of the event, there were plenty of standout moments for social media. This includes Bollywood star Vicky Kaushal performing his hit song Tauba Tauba and Shilpa Rao singing a few of her recent tracks, including Pathaan, Jawan, and War.
Other performers included rapper Hirdesh Singh, Indian actor Shahid Kapoor and the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio – consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa.
