ABU DHABI // If there were any lingering doubts about how far from ordinary the Womad festival will be, they were dispelled yesterday by a group of dancers from Zimbabwe.
The dance troupe Siyaya offered a taste of things to come when the international celebration of world culture opens at the Corniche tonight with a performance at the Emirates Palace hotel in which they sported a combination of traditional African attire and decidedly untraditional construction hard hats and Wellington boots.
Their lively media preview was a tantalising appetiser for a festival that promises to be radically different from the mainstream.
Siyaya will also have the honour of being the first performers at the festival proper, at which they will be accompanied by children from a cross-section of Abu Dhabi schools, where they have been holding workshops over the past week.
The cultural smorgasbord will feature some of the biggest names on the world stage, including the veteran UK rocker Robert Plant and the Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour, the Nubian-Egyptian Mohamed Mounir, who combines elements of traditional Egyptian music and African-style reggae, and the Algerian Rai master Khaled.
As well as three evenings in Abu Dhabi, there will be a Womad concert tomorrow at Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain. All the events are free.
"It will be a rich cultural experience," said Abdullah al Amri, the director of the art and culture department of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, and the man who first thought of bringing Womad to the capital after attending the festival last year in Spain. "For the first time, locals and visitors will experience and get a good picture of the heritage of the region as well. The workshops will also reflect that."
Artistic collaborations on the two stages on the Corniche public beach will include the UAE's Kamal Mussallam Group alongside Sokoor and Magabeel from Jordan, while Marcio Local from Brazil, The Dhol Foundation from the UK, Sa Dingding from China and Los de Abajo from Mexico will be making highly anticipated appearances.
A number of workshops will also be held every day with a focus on teaching children about music and dance, and there will be cooking classes at which some of the performers will prepare their national specialities. Although parking is limited around the Corniche, free shuttle bus services will be provided from the Intercontinental Hotel, Marina Mall and Port Zayed.
sbhattacharya@thenational.ae
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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 banned).
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
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
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
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
The specs
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Transmission: Eight-speed auto
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Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
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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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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
