Vibrant celebrations are expected around the country on Thursday to mark Flag Day.
November 3 is the date Sheikh Khalifa was sworn in as President after the death of his father, Sheikh Zayed, and it has become a day for celebrating the union of the country.
Government organisations, schools, companies, malls and cultural centres throughout the Emirates have planned flag-raising and celebratory events.
In the capital, 2,000 people from all backgrounds will participate in the Flag Walkathon organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development. It will start at 9.30am from the Al Jazira Sports Club in Abu Dhabi to the National Theatre.
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, will hoist the UAE flag and launch the electronic initiative through the UAE flag website Raise it High.
A large mural forming the UAE flag and a flag operetta will also form part of the festivities at the National Theatre.
A UAE Flag Day album containing 17 patriotic songs by Emirati and Arab singers will be given out by the ministry to all government and private bodies, schools, universities and all media institutions to be played to mark the occasion.
“Flag City” events started on Wednesday and are taking place over three days at Abu Dhabi Mall and Festival City mall in Dubai.
Taking place between 10am and 10pm each day, they will include tales about the history of the UAE flag, about its colours and its value in the minds of citizens and the UAE leaders. The storytelling, in Arabic and English, also involves some theatre and offers everyone a chance to learn more about the UAE flag.
The flag will be hoisted daily at 5pm at Flag City events.
In Sharjah, Flag Island theatre will at 8.30pm on Thursday host a show by Roberto Amade, an award-winning Italian songwriter and contemporary artist, who will be performing his CamouFLAGe musical. The show involves using instruments such as a piano and guitar, while he sings and paints an abstract impression of the flag of the UAE.
In Dubai, a group exhibition titled My Flag, My World will be held at Citizen E art gallery from November 3 until December 2.
The exhibition brings together a mix of creative minds, diverse in artistic expressionand nationality and background, yet similar in their love for the UAE.
Elsewhere in Dubai, Majid Al Futtaim’s five malls – Mall of the Emirates, Mirdif and Deira city centres, Me’aisem and Al Shindagha – will have flag-raising ceremonies at noon today.
rhaza@thenational.ae