Live updates: follow the latest news on UAE National Day 2021
Visitors flocked to Expo 2020 on National Day for what was expected to be the world fair's busiest day yet.
Free tickets and a national holiday drew in tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people for the Golden Jubilee celebrations.
Police band bagpipes and Khaleeji drums echoed along the parade route in a rousing spectacle for families who lined the streets, while a stunt jet fly-by drew gasps from the crowds.
A police officer wearing a jetpack even took to the air at the site's centrepiece, Al Wasl Plaza dome.
Mohamed Al Sheki, an Emirati from Dibba on the east coast, was thrilled by the packed schedule.
“Our National Day is very special to us — it's is a celebration of what we have achieved,” he said.
“We know more change is coming but we are excited about that. Some countries stay the same and don’t move forward but the UAE is not like other countries.
“I think in the next 50 years we won’t be on Earth any more!”
Families flooded from the metro to the main gates from shortly after 9am, with queues all the way back to the station doors at one stage.
At Saudi Arabia's pavilion, one of Expo's most popular attractions, 60,000 people had come through the doors by lunchtime — twice the normal daily visitor count.
Rubab Yousuf Ali, from India, is a social science teacher at Gulf Indian High School.
“Expo is like a dream and it will show what can be achieved by holding this event. I’m sure other countries will want to host Expo once they see how successful Dubai has been,” she said.
She has taught her pupils about the country's rapid growth in the past half century, and told them how there are few other countries to have seen comparable progress. Like nearly nine million other expats, she has made the Emirates home.
“Since 1971, there have been so many changes and many new job opportunities, that has been good for all of us,” she said.
“There is so much opportunity in the UAE, but most of all it is a safe place.
“I tell my pupils I can walk safely after 12 at night, that is the UAE.”
Emirati Hossain Al Shehhi, 27, an aircraft engineering student from Dibba, said the Golden Jubilee was the latest landmark in the story of his country.
After sending a probe to Mars and an astronaut to the International Space Station, marking 50 years is just the next chapter.
“We want to compete with America and European countries and show we are just as good, if not better. To see the world come to visit us at Expo makes us all very proud,” he said.
“People learn more and more about us every day they are here, and they feel safe. That in itself is something to be proud of.
“It is my first time to come to Expo, it is very busy but we really want to see the UAE Pavilion as it is very special for us all.”
Yousuf Ali, a 41-year-old from India, has been in the UAE for 15 years and is an accountant. He lives in Deira.
“This celebration is important as we call the UAE our second home. We love this country and want to show that by wearing the colours of the flag.
“There has been so much change in my time here, and my family has grown up here so it means a lot to me to call the UAE home.”
Watch: Dubai Police perform a gravity-defying jetpack show at Expo
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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.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
