Mickey Mouse is ready to make his way to the Middle East after Disney announced plans to open its first new theme park development for 15 years on Yas Island.
The much-anticipated attraction is set to swing open its doors in the early 2030s, delivering a boost to tourism, jobs and the wider economy as well as a sprinkling of family-friendly magic.
The grand opening of Disneyland Abu Dhabi will come about a century after the world's most famous mouse first arrived on Gulf Shores.
It was back in 1932 that the short animated cartoon Mickey in Arabia was brought to the screen, in one of the earliest productions of its kind from Walt Disney.
Mickey in Arabia is seven minutes long and in black and white. This version of Mickey differs from the one used today. His earliest cartoon was Steamboat Willie in 1928.
There are some things that Disney got right about life in the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf. Sand dunes. Palm trees. Camels. As for the rest? Well, to be charitable, not much was known about the region to the general public in the West.
The plot involves Mickey, voiced by Disney himself, visiting a “typical” Arab town, while his nemesis Pete makes a doomed attempt to kidnap Minnie. Perceptions of the Arab world as viewed from Hollywood included snake charmers, the fez or tarboosh, and belly dancers. The people are depicted in a crude style that modern audiences would not recognise.
This orientalist view of not just the Arab world but the entire Middle East was narrow. The region was seen by the western public as exotic, mysterious, perhaps even dangerous thanks to films like The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino, and songs such as The Sheik of Araby, performed by artists including Django Reinhart and the Beatles.
Arab children loved the Mouse, though, and from the late 1950s Mickey featured in Arabic comics, in particular Megalet Mickey (Mickey Magazine) by Dar Al Hillel, published in Cairo under licence from Disney and distributed across the Middle East.
For one cover, released around the time of the 1964 Arab Summit, he is shown in a variety of dress, including keffiyehs, turbans, djellaba and what appears to be a military uniform. In other versions, Mickey was shown playing the rababa, a stringed instrument, making kunefe, and celebrating the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday in front of a building on where the banner “There is No God But Allah” appears. A special Ramadan issue was published every year.
By the 1980s, the Disney corporation was beginning to explore bigger collaborations with the Middle East and in particular the Gulf countries. The Epcot theme park in Florida, opened in 1982, originally envisage a UAE pavilion in its World Showcase, although this was not realised.
Ten years later, Disney opened Disneyland Paris, then called EuroDisney. The park struggled to attract visitors in its early years and was making heavy losses. A rescue by Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud involved a $345 million injection into the theme park in exchange for a 24 per cent stake. The economic potential of the Gulf could not be clearer.
Moving forward, it emerged this year that Disney had begun exploring the possibility of a theme park in Abu Dhabi as early as 2017 with a pitch from the Miral Group, the entertainment and leisure company that developed Ferrari World, Seaworld, Yas Waterworld and others on Yas Island.
Bob Iger, Disney chief executive, said that negotiations began in earnest in February, concluding in the announcement of a Disney theme park in May.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi, he says will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati.
And, yes, “Mickey Mouse is going to appear.”
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The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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How to apply for a drone permit
- 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
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Goalkeepers Pickford (Everton), Pope (Burnley), Henderson (Manchester United)
Defenders Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Chilwell (Chelsea), Coady (Wolves), Dier (Tottenham), Gomez (Liverpool), James (Chelsea), Keane (Everton), Maguire (Manchester United), Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Mings (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Foden (Manchester City), Henderson (Liverpool), Grealish (Aston Villa), Mount (Chelsea), Rice (West Ham), Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Winks (Tottenham)
Forwards: Abraham (Chelsea), Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Kane (Tottenham), Rashford (Manchester United), Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Sterling (Manchester City)
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Rating: 4.5/5
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
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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
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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