From the Middle Eastern oud to the beats of the Djembe drum, the universal language of music provides a stirring soundtrack to Expo 2020 Dubai’s globetrotting celebration for the 48th UAE National Day.

Featuring stars from across the planet performing the UAE national anthem, Ishy Balady, in their home countries, a short video of the track seen here, was seen by hundreds of excited visitors looking forward to EXPO 2020.

The two-minute video begins with the subtle strains of oud music played against the backdrop of the UAE before crisscrossing the globe to bring together a diverse array of musicians including Chinese pianist and producer CORSAK, Indian slide guitarist Niki Mukhi, British trumpeter Paul Spong and Saudi musician multi-instrumentalist Hatoon Idrees, alongside individual artists from the Norwegian State Orchestra, Russia’s Minski Theatre and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.

A choir of school children from Raffles World Academy provides the vocal accompaniment to the track. Led by Oscar-shortlisted Emirati director Nahla Al Fahad, the compilation reflects the UAE’s collaborative spirit and inclusive, forward-thinking core values, while bringing to life the Expo 2020’s theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. Also worth mentioning is how the The World’s Greatest Show – the first World Expo in the region – will open on 20 October, 2020 and bring together 192 nations from around the world.

Delegates who attended Expo 2020 Dubai’s latest International Participants Meeting earlier this week are also looking forward to creating a collaborative international platform that answers global calls for optimism and encourages finding innovative solutions to global challenges.

His Excellency Mohsin Khamis Al Balushi, Advisor, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Commissioner General for the Sultanate of Oman at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “Our colleagues at Expo 2020 Dubai and the UAE have delivered beyond what we expected and have made our mission very easy in both the preparation and operation phase. We are very eager for Expo 2020 to start as soon as possible, because this will be an unforgettable experience for us as a participating country, for visitors and for the region as a whole.”

The Netherlands, the UAE and Jordan also announced that they will co-host the Water-Food-Energy Nexus Conference at Expo 2020 on 12-13 January, 2021. Water, food and energy are threatened by climate change, rising populations and increased urbanization, this collaboration will pool expertise and experience to catalyze solutions that will have an impact in the Middle East, North Africa and worldwide.

Keganele Malikongwa, Acting Permanent Secretary, Botswana Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, said: “We’ve had a lot of amazing ideas from Expo 2020 and our participation will be a huge launchpad for Botswana to interact with the world.”

The six months from 20 October, 2020 to 10 April, 2021 will be a moment in time to be part of an unparalleled event as EXPO 2020 opens its doors to more than 25 million visitors.

A fantastic global celebration with something for everyone, Expo 2020 will wow visitors with 60 daily events across 173 days, showcasing the best of music, technology, creativity and culture, while 200 food and beverage outlets will feature famous chefs and cuisine from every corner of the world.

Expo 2020’s sub-themes of OpportunityMobility and Sustainability also aims to inspire visitors to make a conscious effort to think and live differently, and inspire in them renewed optimism that, through collaboration, it is possible to make a lasting change to the world.

 


 

Hermoine Macura-Noble

The first Australian English speaking News Anchor in the Middle East. She is also the Author of Faces of the Middle East and Founder of US-based 501c3 charity – The House of Rest which helps to ease the suffering of victims of war. For more from our Contributing Editor, you can follow her on Instagram, here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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