Read More: 'Packed schedule' at Expo 2020 Dubai for public holiday weekend
Expo 2020 has more than 190 country pavilions, exhibitions at the Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability pavilions, hundreds of places at which to eat and many shows a day, so visitors have options galore to explore at the world's fair.
UAE residents and tourists are expected to visit the world’s greatest show more than once.
Walking around various pavilions, from hiking in the fog at the Swiss pavilion and soaking in the sights and sounds of old Jerusalem in the Palestine pavilion, there are experiences for every kind of taste at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Live Blog: Updates and live coverage from Expo 2020 Dubai
If you are thinking of heading down to the world’s fair, here are five of the cool experiences you can try out while you are there.
Cool down at the Expo 2020 Dubai's fire-spitting waterfall
The water feature at Expo 2020 Dubai with waves that cascade down stone walls is drawing crowds.
Visitors stopped off to dip their feet in the waterfall that crashes to the ground before disappearing into the stone. The water also dances to music as people frolic in the tumbling stream below.
The gravity-defying illusion is switched on at night, as the water appears to flow upwards and the stone is coloured with rainbow streaks.
The experience is set against a backdrop of specially composed music. An orchestra in London recorded the original score by well-known Game of Thrones music composer and two-time Emmy award winner Ramin Djawadi.
Read more: All you need to know about Expo 2020 Dubai's fire-spitting waterfall
Play games and make a pledge to help save the planet
Learn about how to save water, energy and food and pledge to contribute in a small or big way to saving the planet at the Opportunity pavilion.
The pavilion focuses on how every person can be an agent of change in helping to reach sustainable development goals.
Parallel "tracks" run through the pavilion, focusing on those themes of water, food and energy.
At the pavilion, visitors can play a game in which they help provide the right amount of sunshine and water to a plant to ensure it grows and blossoms.
The final area in the pavilion is the Pledge Room, which delivers a sensory experience giving visitors the illusion that they are in the clouds while looking at Earth and they can make pledges to work towards sustainable development goals.
These pledges are then displayed in panels across the ceiling.
Enjoy a light show at Al Wasl Dome
Al Wasl Dome, often called the beating heart of the Expo, truly comes to life at night.
People gather around the mammoth structure and watch the dazzling dance of lights and patterns as soothing music is played.
The Al Wasl Dome is at its most beautiful after night falls.
Visitors will remember the dome, it was used at the Expo's opening ceremony where its walls were lit with beautiful patterns.
Al Wasl Plaza’s dome is 130 metres in diameter and more than 67 metres tall.
Feel like you are in the Alps with a hike in the fog
If you want to forget the heat and humidity, there is nothing like a quick escape in the Alps.
At the Swiss pavilion, people can walk through a cloud of fog and feel like they are hiking in the Alps.
A hill was built from recycled stone, with high-tech sound and visuals added to recreate a panoramic view from the top of a mountain.
Deeksha Vasanthakumar, a Grade 7 pupil at Delhi Private School Dubai, was excited after her first trip on Wednesday.
Hiking through the fog in the Swiss pavilion was her favourite experience.
“I was in seventh heaven," said the 11-year-old Indian pupil.
Enjoy a kaleidoscope of colours at the Pakistan pavilion
Visitors at the Expo 2020 have been posting their share of photos of the colourful Pakistan pavilion.
Thousands of individual glass units of different sizes and colour were used to create the facade of the pavilion.
The result is an optical illusion for visitors as they walk past the unique structure.
The pavilion, which covers an area of 3,251 square metres in the Opportunity District, has a theme – The Hidden Treasure – intended to boost tourism, commerce and investment in Pakistan.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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Ticket prices
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Europa League group stage draw
Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague.
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu.
Group C: Sporting Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir.
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna , Rijeka, AEK Athens.
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol.
Group F: FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff Tiraspol, FC Zlin.
Group G: Vitoria Plzen, Steaua Bucarest, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, FC Lugano.
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade.
Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria Guimaraes, Konyaspor.
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersund.
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse Arnhem.
Group L: Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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