Next week marks the introduction of a new addition to the UAE’s golf calendar, with the inaugural Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic. Here are the details.
Event:
Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic, May 1-3, Emirates Golf Club.
What is it:
Formerly known as the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, the new-look tournament has been switched from December to May, when it will create history by becoming the world’s first professional day-night golf tournament. The 54-hole, Pro-Am event will be played both during the day and under the new LED floodlights on the Faldo course. Part of the Ladies European Tour, it boasts the 56 leading players on the circuit, set to battle for a portion of the US$285,000 (Dh1.05 million) purse.
Who's playing:
American star Cheyenne Woods, Tiger Woods’ niece, was confirmed on Tuesday for the event. She is no stranger to the UAE having twice contested the Ladies Masters (tied-20th in 2014, tied-10th in 2016), and the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open in Abu Dhabi.
Woods will be joined by current LET money leader Marianne Skarpnord, former money lists winners Beth Allen and Becky Brewerton, and 2017 Solheim Cup teammates Florentyna Parker and Emily Kristine Pedersen.
Caroline Hedwall is the highest-ranked player in the field, at world No 133. Leona Maguire, the former world amateur No 1, will compete alongside her twin, Lisa. Popular Scot Carly Booth is also part of the field.
Past champions:
The tournament’s previous incarnation was won by many leading ladies, including two-time winner Annika Sorenstam, and four-time champion Shanshan Feng. Sorenstam won the first two events (2006/07), while Chinese former world No 1 Feng dominated from 2012-2016, missing out on the Dallah Trophy during that spell only in 2013.
American Lexi Thompson remains its youngest winner after her success in 2011. Compatriot Angel Yin, who captured the last Ladies Classic title in 2017, will not defend her crown.
Ticket info:
Entry is free for all three rounds. For more information, visit the tournament website www.omegadubaimoonlightclassic.com
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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Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
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Torque: 780Nm
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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