Dubai street-culture and music festival Sole DXB will return from December 9 to 11 after a two-year hiatus. First held in 2011, the annual event has since grown to be one of the UAE's top festivals. It now features a multi-format programme of talks and workshops to footwear exchanges, film screenings and musical concerts.
More than 36,000 people attended the last event, held at the Dubai Design District in 2019, which attracted more than 100 performers, designers and speakers across three days. Past performers and guests at Sole DXB include the likes of hip-hop greats Wu-Tang Clan and rappers Nas, Koffee and Stormzy.
In September last year, organisers cancelled the December event for the second year, owing to coronavirus pandemic.
"Despite our best efforts, we won’t be able to make the festival happen this year. We’d like nothing more than to bring the community back together, but current circumstances don’t allow us to build the show we want," they said on social media.
"Sole DXB will be back, and when it is, we will make it count."
Details of this year's programming as well as a line-up of performers are yet to be revealed.
The first Sole DXB was held on February 24, 2011 at thejamjar, a warehouse art gallery in Al Quoz. Marketed as a "sneaker summit", the aim then was to galvanise the city's nascent hip-hop scene. In 2015, Sole DXB found its permanent home in Dubai Design District and has since added international hip-hop artists, film screenings and panel sessions to its programme.
Speaking to The National at the 2019 event, co-founder Hussain Moloobhoy described Sole DXB as "a platform for people to connect”.
“Because hip-hop culture has not been here for 20 to 30 years, like other cities, it is an education on where the culture comes from and the different strands it has," he said.
Scroll through the gallery below for pictures from Sole DXB 2019:
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
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Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
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