Presented by du and supported by Coca – Cola: The ’One’ Marquee attracts soccer fans as World Cup finale nears

As the 2010 FIFA World Cup enters the final week, soccer fans are crowding the ’One’, a luxurious marquee built especially for the World Cup. Presented by du, and supported by Coca-Cola as the Official Partner, the high-end venue is one of the main attractions of the ongoing Dubai Summer Surprises 2010.

Fully-equipped with state-of-the-art 35 LCD screens in addition to two 2×3 metre giant screens, the marquee offers its visitors a great menu of food and beverages in addition to shiesha to set the mood of excitement and cheering across the two-floored venue. Cooled by air conditioning units, the marquee can accommodate around 600 spectators. 

SITL Dubai 2011 and Airport Show 2011 to Share Same Grounds

Reed Exhibitions Middle East, one of the leading organisers of trade and consumer exhibitions, today announced SITL Dubai 2011 and Airport Show 2011 will be held concurrently from 31 May – 2 June 2011 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Organised under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman and CEO of Emirates airline and Group, both exhibitions will complement each other and gather suppliers of equipment and services covering all areas of airport development and operations. It will also draw shippers, transport and logistics services providers at the same arena, offering a more comprehensive networking platform for the region’s industry.

The year 2011 will mark the 11th edition of the Airport Show, the only event in the region dedicated to airport construction, operations, technology and services. It will also witness the second edition of SITL Dubai, a unique business to business event that offers a complete access to all aspects supply chain management.

Mohamad Bader-Eddin, Show Director, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, said: "The synergy between The Airport Show and SITL Dubai is the underlying factor that made us link the two shows to offer a highly integrated and complete logistics experience to the region.

"With the co-location of both events, we now aim to cover the internationally recognised means of transportation – sea, land and now air. The successful previous editions of Airport Show and SITL Dubai in addition to our continuous efforts to provide stakeholders with ample opportunities for business growth are in line with Reed Exhibitions’ strategic direction to cater to market requirements and uphold its reputation as a leading international exhibition and conference organiser."

Participants will also have the chance to meet with a greater number of decision-makers in the transport and logistics industry, airline, aviation and airport sectors, as well as regulatory bodies and government entities, and gain exposure to a larger and more diverse network of visitors and interested stakeholders.

Moreover, the co-location of the shows will allow the delivery of a broader conference and seminar programmes that will headline the two events. In particular, the Hosted Buyer programme will offer exhibitors an increased opportunity to meet with potential buyers.

The Airport Show is supported by leading aviation authorities and trade bodies including Dubai Airports, Abu Dhabi Airports Company, Dubai Civil Aviation, German Airport Technology & Equipment (GATE), British Aviation Group, British Airport Services & Equipment Association, Danish Airport Group, UBIFRANCE (the French Agency for international business development), and Netherlands Airport Technology Group.

SITL Dubai enjoys similar endorsements by participants such as Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA), DP World, National Association of Freight and Logistics (NAFL), International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and Logistics City.

Art And Craft Zone Provides Carefree Canvas For Children To Paint

Numerous free zones and activities are attracting crowds of children to Modhesh World that has laid out around forty exciting zones for children and grown-ups alike. The Art and Craft is one of the most popular and engaging free zones at Modhesh World. It provides an avenue for the children to leisurely express themselves and play a riot with colours. Here children can let their creative skills and imagination flow without a restraint of medium, time, or encouragement.

Activities like drawing, coloring, beadwork and accessory making appeal to children of all ages. This is also the right place to make a souvenir of the day at Modhesh World. Families have the option to work together and make a painting or a bead handicraft together.

The face painting corner is also a hit with children. Here they can get their faces painted with their favourite character masks including that of Modhesh. The Modhesh head is one of the most popular face painting designs.

Seven year old Shahed Jafal and her three year old sister Fatma Jafal had an amazing time at the Art and Craft Zone coloring, drawing and working together. “I really enjoy drawing and colouring. I love to draw Modhesh most of all. Making different clothes and styles for him is fun. Fatma loves to color but she cannot draw. So I draw and we both color together,” said Shahed.

Five year old Uttara from India was busy putting her imagination on paper while her brother played with beads, feeling the textures, letting them slip through his fingers or simply turning them over and over overlooked by an attentive volunteer. “Both of them enjoy spending time here and both are easily engrossed in different activities. After running around this gives them a good break and we can spend more time out enjoying as a family without worrying that children get tired,” said their mother.

H. B. Leisure, DWTC, Coco-Cola, Magic Planet, Emirates, Masafi and Union Co-operative are the sponsor s of Modhesh World.

Modhesh World doors are open from 10.00am to 10:00pm (Saturday to Wednesday), 10:00am to midnight (Thursdays), and 3:00pm to midnight on Fridays. Tickets to the venue are priced at AED 10 for adults and AED 15 for children with numerous free zones and exciting activities.
 

Dubai Electricity And Water Authority Participates In ’Yesterday’s Heritage For Tomorrow’s Generation’

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) today announced its participation in the summer activities organized by the Architectural Heritage department of Dubai Municipality by hosting special activities for children on the importance of protecting the environment through energy conservation.

Held at the ‘Dar Al Nadwa’ in the Bastakiya District, the activities are open to students and the children of DEWA employees for three days a week from 5 – 30 July, 2009.

‘Splashy’ and ‘Sparky’, DEWA’s mascots representing water and electricity, are adding to the edutainment part of the event with their exciting presence. Distributing gifts such as books, clothing apparel and toys, both characters are contributing to raising awareness among children on the need to save energy.

DEWA’s participation comes as part of its emirate-wide endeavour to offer advice on the methods of conserving energy and encouraging consumers to reduce their consumption rates during the peak summer hours.

Amal Koshak, Senior Manager – Demand and Tariff Management, DEWA, said: “There is no doubt that protecting the environment by not depleting our natural resources is an urgent national priority. We urge every segment of society to support us in this noble cause and help us disseminate the message to the largest number of stakeholders.

“Our participation in ‘Yesterday’s Heritage for Tomorrow’s Generation’ stems from our deep conviction in the value of educating the community on various energy conservation methods. Instilling the habit of saving power to reduce environmental damage among children will significantly help shape a healthy environment for the next generation.”

DEWA recently participated for the sixth consecutive year at the annual Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) extravaganza through leveraging its presence at Modhesh World to educate the general public on the importance of energy conservation. In addition, it is aggressively hosting a spectrum of other activities to educate the residents of Dubai on the importance of conserving natural resources, including distributing devices that help reduce water and electricity consumption at home.

Dedicated Shoppers Reap Rewards At Mall Of The Emirates And Deira City Centre

Two self-confessed shopaholics, one in her 40s and the other in her 20s, are the latest winners of Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre’s joint DSS promotion that is giving away prizes worth AED 2 million during the festival.

Nazan Onu, a Turkish tourist and Elena Mavrayeva, a Dubai resident from Uzbekistan have won AED 100,000 each and have already started spending their windfalls by shopping at their two favorite malls!
 

Emirates On The Road And In The Air In Africa

Emirates is hitting the road in Africa to lift the profile of its expansion plans on the continent.

Events will be held in South Africa and Angola, countries where Emirates is launching new routes this year. Flights to Durban start on October 1st, while services to the Angolan capital of Luanda begin on October 25th.

The main thrust of the road show activities comes from Emirates Holidays, the tour operating arm of Emirates, whose road show will cover more than a dozen towns and cities across South Africa between July 22nd and August 23rd.

Emirates Holidays, equipped with its 2009/10 brochure, A World of Choice, will be promoting its 120 destinations in key shopping malls and briefing travel agents throughout the country.

The Emirates’ Holidays road show kicked off in Durban on July 22nd and takes in places such as Umhlanga, Pietermaritzburg, Port Elizabeth, Knysna, George, Cape Town, Polokwane and Bloemfontein, before wrapping up in Johannesburg a month later.

Despite the world’s economic difficulties, the tour operating arm of Emirates has experienced an increase in year on year sales and South Africa is one of the strongest performing markets, both inbound and outbound. The launch of daily flights to Durban will supplement a daily service into Cape Town and a triple daily into Johannesburg.

John Felix, Senior Vice President, Emirates Holidays, said: "South Africa is one of our top revenue markets and its important for us to get out there and reinforce our brand presence. It’s also an opportunity for us to relationship build, make new contacts and fine-tune our products based on market feedback so we can ensure that our customers are getting the very best service and value for money. A road show of this size is particularly significant in these tougher economic times and very much demonstrates our commitment to the industry, our partners and our clients."

On the airline side, the final touches are being put to plans to bring together more than 1,000 travel industry representatives for a major road show event in Durban on July 27th. The high-profile gathering will generate the usual Emirates’ buzz, introducing the airline to the coastal city alongside top entertainment, ahead of the first flight from Dubai on October 1st.

Meanwhile, to the northwest in Angola, Emirates is working on a launch event in Luanda, which will celebrate the arrival of the carrier in the Angolan capital on October 25th. Top travel industry figures, business partners and senior government officials are expected to attend to mark the three flights a week service.

Nigel Page, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Americas & Africa, said: "Africa has played an increasing role in the expansion of Emirates since we launched flights to Cairo back in 1986. With its burgeoning commercial activity and rapid development, we look forward to further exciting work on the continent, while at the same time playing our part in supporting Africa’s economic growth."

Emirates SkyCargo will provide assistance on both routes with the belly hold of passenger aircraft being used to transport a range of mostly consumer commodities in and out of the trade-rich continent.

The carrier has been gradually strengthening its services across Africa. In February this year, Emirates went double daily to Lagos, while the Nairobi route will be boosted with an extra weekly flight from August 1st. On the same day, daily flights to Tunis and Tripoli become de-linked.

In all, 16 passenger and cargo destinations are currently served in Africa. They are: Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dar es Salaam, Eldoret, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Lagos, Lilongwe, Nairobi, Tripoli and Tunis.

Mr Page added: "It’s highly significant that Africa is the only continent where Emirates has announced new routes for this year, despite the challenging industry conditions. We also have around 4,000 Africans amongst the 140 or so nationalities employed across the Emirates Group."

Since establishing itself as an airline in 1985, Emirates has mushroomed into a major player on the international travel and tourism stage. More than 50 brands now make up the Emirates Group including Emirates Holidays, Emirates SkyCargo, Emirates Hotels & Resorts, Skywards and Dnata.

RTA Takes Part In DSS 2009 With A Historical And Heritage Expo

Mr. Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan CEO of RTA’s Licensing Agency and Mr. Yousef Sharaf, Deputy Executive Director of Aswaaq Centers inaugurated "Al Maktoum & Dubai Exhibition" held at the Aswaaq Centers in Al Mizhar Area as part of RTA’s activity in the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) 2009. The exhibition will run for two weeks.

Bahrozyan stated that the Exhibition, which is organized by the Licensing Agency under the title "Al Maktoum & Dubai," embodies the history and heritage of the Dubai Emirate since the era of the fifties through to the sixties and until emergence of the UAE Union at beginning of the seventies. The Agency offers rare heritage collections giving the visitors an overview of the Al-Maktoum and the emirate of Dubai in that period of time.

He explained that the collections include books, coins, stamps, medals and old posters of the Al Maktoum and the emirate of Dubai. The exhibition also includes Arabic and foreign books narrating about HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in addition to glass collections decorated with the portraits of Sheikh Rashid. The stamps carry pictures of Sheikh Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The event also includes ancient coins and military medals that were used in the Emirate of Dubai during that time.

For his part, Mr. Nabeel Yousef Al Ali, Director of Control and Inspection at the Licensing Agency said that the Agency is partaking in the exhibition with a history of driving license in Dubai Driving license’s developmental phases, and various forms and designs were showcased. The Agency is also reviewing through the plate numbers the vision that can be adopted after the use of Latin alphabets (A, B, C…) carried by the plate numbers in Dubai.

It is worth mentioning that the exhibition is open to visitors from 9 am to 9 pm.

Al Bustan Centre And Residence Unveils Breathtaking Acrobatics For DSS Shoppers!

Al Bustan Centre and Residence – the deluxe property which offers world-class hospitality services and facilities in the city, has prepared to entertain shoppers with a range of activities along with fascinating discounts as part of the Dubai Summer Surprises 2009 celebrations. Designed to be the top entertainment destination for summer season, the property is hosting a variety of gigs and live performances to captivate audiences right through the nine weeks period of the twelfth edition of DSS starting from June 11 to August 14 2009.

One of the most popular and well received performances at the Al Bustan Centre is the acrobatic Hand Balancing Act by the world famous German gymnast Natalie Reckert. The 20 minutes-long performance involving breathtaking stunts and tricks performed live has got thrilled audiences who keep returning to watch more performances. Once the crowd settles in, Natalie starts with simple yet popular circus tricks and builds up the momentum and the intensity of her acts with more stunning hand balancing acrobatics. With the help of a few tables and stands Natalie displays mesmerizing body movements reminding us of the good old circus days. Progressing into her performance, Natalie exhibits a set of exercises and acrobatics using a long silk cloth tied onto her hands and legs.

Speaking about the event Moussa El Hayek, Chief Operating Officer Al Bustan Centre & Residence, said: “Despite the credit crunch and economic recession, travellers from overseas still consider Dubai as one of the major shopping and entertainment destinations and the Dubai Summer Surprises as an attractive retail extravaganza offering fabulous discounts and offers. To lighten up the mall this DSS and spread the festivities we at Al Bustan Residence have brought in world recognized professionals to turn this summer into a truly memorable one for the entire family.”

Trained in sportsacrobatics and classical dance, Natalie Reckert has been performing since the tender age of five and has studied at the Circus Space in London and. Combining her training with her unique ability and understanding of hand balancing she decided to express the beauty of hand stands and make it her career, amazing audiences across the world.

Her visit to Dubai and performances at the Al Bustan Center has involved months of hard work, dedication and strict regime to ensure the logistics of the event would fall into place like the costumes, music, and incredible theme and tempo of the show. However dangerous and dramatic the acts at the show would appear, Natalie confesses that the stage is safe and secure after the training from professionals and years of balancing practices.

So if you wish to see a live spectacular performance along with attractive shopping promotions and discounts this DSS 2009 visit the Al Bustan Center or call Toll Free: 800-4648 for the show timing.

Etisalat And Nokia Announce Joint Offering To Provide The Ultimate Internet Experience On The Nokia N97

Etisalat and Nokia today announced a joint offering to encourage consumers to explore the Internet experience on the Nokia N97. With the purchase of the N97, consumers will get 1GB data for one month free from Etisalat. Once consumers have finished the free trial, they can opt to continue with the same package at 195 AED per month, or subscribe to Etisalat’s other data packages, as per their usage needs.

The Nokia N97 is Nokia’s first device to feature a customized home screen, which can be personalized with a range of widgets which bring live information directly to the device. These widgets include key social networking destinations like Facebook and Hi5, news services like the Associated Press, Bloomberg and Reuters, as well as shopping and weather information. The Nokia N97 is the first device to ship with the Ovi Store, which offers easy access to applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services, and much more. Ovi Store has paid and free content from a range of global and local content providers and developers, including Paramount Pictures, Facebook and Qik, as well as a selection of Twitter applications.

“Etisalat’s robust 3G network and crystal clear voice clarity complements technologically advanced devices like Nokia N97 to provide a truly unparalleled mobile internet experience to our customers. With the one month free 1GB data package that we are offering with Nokia’s N97, our aim is to enable users to explore the full Internet experience from downloading applications, to video streaming, to email and browsing, on this fantastic device, ”said Mr. Essa Al Haddad, Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat.

“The Nokia N97 is an important step towards our vision of delivering a highly personalized Internet experience,” said Bahar Tabakoglu, Head of Marketing, Nokia, Lower Gulf. “Fuelled by a multitude of music, maps, games, media and applications via Ovi, the Nokia N97 transforms the Internet into an experience that’s completely tailored to the tastes and interests of its owner. With the Etisalat offer, people will have the chance to fully explore and enjoy this experience.”

Aswaaq Launches ’Thimaar’ As A New Fruit And Vegetable Supplier

Aswaaq has announced the launching of ‘Thimaar’, a subsidiary under aswaaq’s umbrella, as the new supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables. The announcement comes in line with recent statistics showing a 40% increase in the imports of fruits and vegetables in the years 2007 and 2008, and aims to ensure aswaaq’s strive to provide high quality and healthy products to its various customers.

Officials at aswaaq have revealed that Thimaar will start supplying fresh produce to aswaaq’s supermarkets in July and will be directly responsible for the consolidation, processing and pre-packaging of fresh produce. Thimaar will also source superior products through direct import as well as contribute to the local economy by supporting local farmers in the region.

“We are pleased to welcome Thimaar onboard as our main fruit and vegetable supplier and we look forward to maintain our growth as a company with them by our side. By further raising our standards, Thimaar will play a key role in increasing customer satisfaction levels and ultimately the development of aswaaq as a whole in Dubai,” said Abdul Al Basset Al Janahi, CEO and Board member of aswaaq

Located in Ras Al Khor Industrial Area 2, Thimaar will be sourcing and selecting superior products from the local market, local suppliers, local farms and direct import. The company will operate under International procedures and processes, where fresh produce will be handled with extreme care and under the strictest hygienic conditions. Thimaar’s highly experienced team will develop concepts, packaging and a variety of products for the retail sector and will be working with the latest technology to ensure quality and maintain freshness of the produce.

In addition to supplying aswaaq supermarkets with fresh produce Thimaar also plans to distribute fruit and vegetables to various government bodies, hotels and restaurants in the UAE. To ensure the freshness and quality of the fruit and vegetable sector in Dubai, the Thimaar Distribution Centre will use some of the highest technology systems available to guarantee freshness and a higher level of quality.

“We are currently implementing the latest technologies available to ensure the elimination of every type of airborne bacteria, mould and fungi is essential for quality and freshness. With the recent HACCP certification that we received and the installation of the AiroCide system, we are looking forward to ensure maximum control of health and food safety standards in aswaaq and its subsidiaries like Thimaar,” said Affan Al Khoori, the assigned member for Thimaar