National Day to be celebrated in air, ground and water

Fireworks will light up the sky from December 1 to 3 at various locations in Abu Dhabi.

The first cars decorated in UAE colours and symbols have already started roaming the capital's street as the fever for the 44th UAE National Day preparations keeps growing.
Shops and private homes are being decorated with Emirati flags and colourful lights. The sky over Abu Dhabi is busy with Al Fursan Aerobatics' jets, practicing for the air show, which will take place on the Corniche on December 1, from 3pm till 6pm.
The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority has joined forces with several of the emirate's organisations and companies to put together 14 days of celebrations that already started on November 19 and will continue till December 5.
"On this, the country's 44th National Day, we are proud to work together with our partners across the emirate to deliver this impressive and diverse programme of events," said Faisal Al Sheikh, director of Events Bureau at TCA.
"It will be as entertaining as it is inclusive and we are confident we will engage everyone within Abu Dhabi with celebratory events for locals, citizens and visitors alike," he added.
The official ceremony will take place at Zayed Sports City in the Capital on December 2 and it will feature cultural, music, artistic and poetry shows to honour the country and its leaders. Attendance is free, but limited to UAE residents and citizens with Emirates ID, who need to register for the event in advance.
Also on the National Day itself the UAE Armed Forces will have an aerial, naval and ground display on the Abu Dhabi Corniche, as well as a parade of its armoured combat vehicles and a show of its top pilots, parachuting themselves on exact landing spots.
On the same day, Yas Marina Circuit will host its own celebrations, with the popular official Car Parade taking place on December 3, where the public is invited to bring their decorated vehicles to parade on the Circuit.
From December 1 to 3, several live concerts of the most prominent Emirati and Arab singers will take place at the Zayed Heritage Festival in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, as well as Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Hili Fun City in Al Ain and Dalma Island, Al Sila'a and Madinat Zayed in the Western Region.
Complementing the concerts there will be a series of fireworks that will light up the sky every night from December 1 to 3, at the same locations as the concerts.
The waters along the Abu Dhabi Corniche will also be busy with Al Bawanish Dhow Race on December 1 and a traditional 40-feet dhow race on the following day.
The UAE capital will also have a large flower exhibition and parade with 44 artistic floats representing the nation's 44th "birthday", which will be on show at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, as well as on Abu Dhabi Corniche and public gardens in the city.
Falconry, camels, Emirati folklore and handicrafts shows and exhibitions will take place at the Zayed Heritage Festival in Al Wathba throughout next week, but also in Al Ain and various locations in the Western Region.
Heritage-related shows will also be organised by Aldar in Bandar, Muneera, Al Raha Gardens and Al Falah. Most of the emirate's malls will join in the celebrations with competitions, free children's activities and heritage related shows.
Private organisations and clubs are putting together their own events, too.
"For the first time this year we are running an offroading trip across the seven emirates," said Amro Al Tamimi, one of the UAE Offroaders founders, a free-for-all offroading club based in Abu Dhabi.
The full programme for the National Day events in Abu Dhabi are available on abudhabievents.ae.
silvia@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi

Silvia Radan

silvia@khaleejtimes.com