Arab stars and Hollywood celebrities walked the red carpet for the annual Joy Awards, one of the region's biggest entertainment events, at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena on Saturday.
Hollywood A-listers Matthew McConaughey, Amanda Seyfried, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr and Martin Lawrence joined football star Thierry Henry and a host of regional celebrities, from veteran Egyptian actress Yousra to Saudi actress Mila Alzahrani on the red carpet.
The event also featured top-notch performers on the night, including pop star Christina Aguilera, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Canadian crooner Michael Buble – fresh off his Abu Dhabi show last week – Lebanese singer Wael Kfoury and Saudi superstar Mohammed Abdu.
Now in its fifth year, Joy Awards honours talents across film, TV, sports and even social media. It is organised by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and broadcast live on MBC channels and streaming platform Shahid.
Aguilera was accompanied on the red carpet or, more accurately, lavender carpet, by her fiance, Matthew Rutler. Wearing a white shirt paired with shimmering maxi skirt, the singer accessorised her look with dark sunglasses.
Opening the show with her rousing 20O2 hit The Voice Within, Aguilera later changed to a striking red gown by Elie Saab, followed by an all-black leather ensemble for her biggest hit Genie in a Bottle.
As if channeling her Red Riding Hood character from 2011, Seyfried walked the red carpet in a dreamy red ruffled dress by Valentino, accentuated by a black bow on the waist.
Meanwhile, McConaughey was accompanied by his wife, model Camila Alves, who chose a striking one shoulder yellow dress with gold sequins by Oscar de la Renta.
The Arab world was also glamorously represented by stars from the Gulf as well as the wider Middle East, with Lebanese designers dominating the red carpet.
Saudi actress Mila Alzahrani chose a dramatic gown by Lebanese designer Sara Mrad. The corseted sapphire dress featured a voluminous sleeve while the midi skirt is adorned by organza feathers and a bouquet of embroidered flowers. The look is finished off with a pleated puffy train.
Lebanese couturier Zuhair Murad, who was honoured at the event, also dressed a number of regional stars on the night, including Lebanese singer and actress Cyrine Abdelnour, Egyptian actress Enjy Kiwan, Moroccan actress Miryam Labiad and Lebanese actress Aimee Sayah.
Egyptian actress Nelly Karim chose a stunning red gown by Lebanese designer Tony Ward while Syrian singer Assala Nasri chose a creation by Lebanese designer Nicolas Jebran.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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Towering concerns
CREW
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
E-cigarettes report
Explained
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
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JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Racecard
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
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Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Mohammed Al Attas
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Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
