More than a decade since launching, the Sharjah Light Festival continues to shine
This year it began on Wednesday night with a sparkling opening with the emirate's tourist and family attractions illuminated in dazzling colours and light schemes. The festival will run until February 19.
The annual event is a celebration of the city's rich cultural heritage and an opportunity to show off buildings and landmarks that play a major role in everyday life.
There is Al Noor Mosque, a central point of worship during Friday prayers and Ramadan, completed in 2006. The lights accentuate its Islamic design motifs and materials that include gold, marble, soil and shells.
Sharjah Fort Al Hisn is also in the limelight. Built in 1823 before being renovated and reopened in 2015, the square, two-storey construction was previously the Sharjah government's headquarters and the residence of the ruling Al Qasimi family.
New sites are also featured, including Kalba Clock Tower Square, opened last year by Sharjah Ruler Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi. At 60m tall, the tower is part of a large site that includes 12 water fountains and 60 smaller water features.
The Sharjah Light Festival was first held in 2010 at the Sharjah Chambers of Commerce, but has gone on to cast a bigger shadow with each staging.
Sheikh Dr Sultan launched the 2011 event in Al Qasba before going on a boat trip from Qasba Canal to Khalid Lagoon as part of a procession of abras, The National reported at the time.
In 2013, the emirate's east coast permanently joined the festivities, with the historical Omar bin Al Khattab Mosque in Khorfakkan and Sharjah University's campus in Kalba lit up for the occasion.
The following year, it featured an expansive hour-long parade beginning at Flag Island and covering the expanse of Khalid Lagoon before leading to the central souq.
Last year, the festival theme was Echoes of the Future. The opening night featured a light show at University City Hall that projected many of the Sharjah milestones in the fields of art, astronomy, architecture and the environment.
This year's festival will continue to highlight the emirate's story, one that will radiate for a long time to come.
Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
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.
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Abu Dhabi GP weekend schedule
Friday
First practice, 1pm
Second practice, 5pm
Saturday
Final practice, 2pm
Qualifying, 5pm
Sunday
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps), 5.10pm
Expert advice
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Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
