With 192 pavilions, myriad exhibitions, hundreds of restaurants and non-stop activities, there are experiences for every taste at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Each week, we give you a round-up of some of the coolest happenings not to miss at the world's fair. Celebrating their country days this week are Belarus on Monday, Italy on Wednesday, and the Ivory Coast on Friday.
Follow the latest updates on Expo 2020 Dubai here
Here are our top picks of things to do this week:
1. Watch Algerian group El Day in concert
Experience an eclectic journey through Algerian music courtesy of El Day, who will fuse together a number of musical styles including diwane, flamenco, chaabi, samba, salsa and reggae in a two-hour concert designed to showcase the richness and diversity of the country’s musical heritage.
Where: Jubilee Stage
When: Monday, November 22
Time: 8pm
2. Enjoy an evening of Musical Fusion
A unique Qawwali Pakistani concert with Ustad Fareed Ayaz and Ustad Abu Muhammad, presenting various genres of classical music and Sufi performances, will take place on Monday evening. The pair hail from a traditional family known for their various genres of music, and will showcase the techniques passed down to them through generations.
Where: Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre
When: Monday, November 22
Time: 8pm
3. Watch a screening of ‘Cinema Paradiso’
As part of Italy Pavilion's film series, prepare to be enchanted by this movie from Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore. The winner of the 1989 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, starring Philippe Noiret and Antonella Attili, the romantic drama centres on a filmmaker's recollection of falling in love with movies at the cinema in his local Sicilian village.
Where: Italy Pavilion
When: Monday, November 22
Time: 8pm
4. Catch a Sustainability and Design conference
The Portugal Pavilion has launched ‘Home and Design’ month to showcase Portuguese tradition, innovation and sustainability. Running until December 5, artisans and designers will appear at a series of events, including a conference on Sustainability and Design, set to take place on November 23.
Where: Portugal Pavilion
When: Tuesday, November 23
Time: 4pm
5. Join an International Chef's Table with Manish Mehrotra
Award-winning Indian chef Manish Mehrotra will host a luxurious evening at Jubilee Gastronomy, serving up a nine-course tasting menu including some of his signature dishes. Guests will even be picked up and dropped off in a limousine, and sent away with personalised gift bags. Reservation is required by e-mailing book.jubilee@gatesdxb.com or by calling 050 222 1488.
Where: Jubilee Gastronomy
When: Tuesday, November 23
Time: 10am — midnight
6. Watch the World School Chess Tournament
More than 100 of the world’s best young chess players will come together for the World School Chess Tournament, taking place at the Spain Pavilion from Wednesday to Monday. Grouped in 12 teams and coming from 10 different countries, 108 participants will battle it out to take the final title in front of reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway) and his opponent, Ian Niepomniachi (Russia). The participants are the finalists of the one-year event, initiated with 2,600 contestants from more than 54 countries.
Where: Spain Pavilion
When: 25-29 November
Time: Ongoing
7. Saudi Arabia Poetry series
Arabic music and poetry will come together in an evening featuring renowned and emerging poets from the Gulf and Mena, who will showcase their latest works.
Where: Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre
When: Saturday, November 27
Time: 8pm to 10pm
8. Moroccan Caftan Exhibition
Discover the beautiful designs and detailed craftsmanship of a unique collection of Moroccan Caftans, designed by top Moroccan fashion designers. The garments combine intricate designs with rich fabrics, using traditional techniques that have been used for centuries.
Where: Morocco Pavilion
When: Friday, November 26
Time: 9am to 10pm
9. Watch a screening of ‘Son Rise’
Catch a screening of this multi award-winning documentary by Vibha Bakshi, which tells the story of the fight to change the narrative on gender inequality. It will be followed by a call to action by the Heads of the Diplomatic Missions.
Where: Jubilee Stage
When: Friday, November 26
Time: 7pm
10. Enjoy live music from Mad Hatter's Daughter
When Buzz T Isles heard his wife Kira sing for the first time, he immediately realised her talent. The couple released their first music together a few months later. The duo will take to the stage at the Germany Pavilion on Friday evening, bringing with them their dynamic sound, which pays homage to both the younger and older generations.
Where: Germany Pavilion
When: Friday, November 26
Time: 8pm
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
MATCH INFO
Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)
Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
'Avengers: Infinity War'
Dir: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Junior, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen
Four stars
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
DUBAI%20BLING%3A%20EPISODE%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENetflix%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKris%20Fade%2C%20Ebraheem%20Al%20Samadi%2C%20Zeina%20Khoury%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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
Company%20Profile
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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
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Brief scoreline:
Toss: South Africa, elected to bowl first
England (311-8): Stokes 89, Morgan 57, Roy 54, Root 51; Ngidi 3-66
South Africa (207): De Kock 68, Van der Dussen 50; Archer 3-27, Stokes 2-12
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Company%20profile
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TYPES%20OF%20ONLINE%20GIG%20WORK
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UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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
