Brazil's $30 million pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai will be completed by the end of the month and organisers are ready to make a big splash at the global event.
The South American team promise an experience to invigorate the senses and which will celebrate the best of Brazil.
Visitors can dip their feet in ankle-deep water that surrounds the two-storey building while watching vibrant images of the lush Amazon rainforest or keep dry in the sections that will host the main exhibition.
When you go inside, you see water on every side
Elias Martins Filho,
commissioner general for Brazil
“The pavilion is like an immense cube floating in the water,” Elias Martins Filho, commissioner general for the Brazil pavilion, told The National.
“When you go inside, you see water on every side, but the visitor can also walk on the dry areas.
“We intend to offer a sensory experience, so they can see Brazil, feel the water on their feet and see beautiful scenes.
“And in the evening when the sun goes down, the pavilion will come alive with lights and videos.”
A steel frame holds a translucent membrane on to which 125 projectors will beam video and photographs of the tropical jungles for a 360-degree immersive experience.
Water will be pumped to the surface from five underground tanks and a chiller will ensure the temperature stays cool.
The water will be potable, filtered and regularly tested to ensure sanitary conditions are met.
“We intend people to touch the water so they must have contact with clean water,” he said.
“So we are renewing the water and rotating it from the tanks.
“We will test the water to maintain sanitation but also so the temperature remains cool.
“We want people to relax and enjoy the environment.”
Countries are racing to complete work on structures to host guests during the six-month World Expo that begins in October in Dubai.
The open-plan architecture was devised long before the Covid-19 pandemic and the organisers hope to draw in people who now prefer to spend time in outdoor areas without air conditioning.
Social distancing rules will be followed across the 4,000-square-metre pavilion, with limits on the number allowed entry at any one time. Family groups will be permitted together and physical distancing maintained in an authentic Brazilian restaurant inside the building.
The exhibition inside the building will constantly change and take visitors beyond the Amazon to big cities, historic sites and carnivals.
There was a 30 per cent increase in the budget caused by the one-year delay but organisers were optimistic about Dubai’s plan to drive business with large events scheduled across the Expo grounds.
“We believe it will bring us business opportunities because Dubai has prepared its Expo to also be a business platform,” Mr Filho said.
“Many big events will happen in parallel to the Universal Exposition, so that will put us in the middle of an environment to bring our companies to meet investors. We hope businesses will use this platform to expand in the region. It will be a very big opportunity.”
MATCH INFO
Maratha Arabians 107-8 (10 ovs)
Lyth 21, Lynn 20, McClenaghan 20 no
Qalandars 60-4 (10 ovs)
Malan 32 no, McClenaghan 2-9
Maratha Arabians win by 47 runs
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
PRISCILLA
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Sunday's games
Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
England XI for second Test
Rory Burns, Keaton Jennings, Ben Stokes, Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes (wk), Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, James Anderson
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
