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UAE: 'Fly' over Abu Dhabi Corniche, attend concerts as MOTN festival returns

Performing artists include Egyptian singer Mohamed Hamaki marking New Year’s Eve at the festival

Published: Sat 7 Dec 2024, 1:59 PM

Updated: Sun 8 Dec 2024, 2:30 PM

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KT photos: Shihab

KT photos: Shihab

MOTN Festival kicked off at Abu Dhabi Corniche on Friday with an array of exhilarating experiences, entertaining functions and international food concepts till the end of this month.

In its eighth edition, MOTN welcomes visitors with its ‘out of this world’ space exploration theme, putting a futuristic fantasy touch on the festival’s rides, activities, skill games and immersive tunnels.

“The festival returns bigger this year with a fantasy theme and first-time activities that appeal to children, teens and adults,” said Fadi Khouri, MOTN’s marketing manager.

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The concept and internationally recognised food vendors who flew all the way from London and Australia were inspired by ‘comments derived from previous year's visitors’.

“In this edition, we have the Ferris Wheel and Space Flight, we also gathered all international food vendors, that have been brought to Abu Dhabi for the first time due to popular demand, under one Food Hall.

“For instance, residents were keen on bringing London’s Chin Chin Ice cream to the UAE,” Khouri added.

Chin Chin’s innovative ice cream creations combine exquisite flavours like coffee and olive oil or black sesame tahini halva — all made with liquid nitrogen, for an added thrill and extravagant presentation.

Other pop-ups at the Food Hall dome include Frank! Hotdogs, Voodoo Rays’ giant pizza slices, and ‘London’s favourite smashed burgers’ by Peckish.

“You also saw the long queues at Brooki, everyone is excited to meet the famous TikTok-er from Australia and try her freshly baked fluffy cookies,” he added.

Watch video below:

On the festival’s inaugural afternoon, parents and children lined up outside the massive indoor trampoline park to meet and greet their favourite parkour stunt performers Ninja Kidz. The widely popular social media family flew from the US to perform their thrilling acrobatics and signature choreographic martial arts throughout the weekend. Festival goers can hit the Ninja Kidz themed trampoline park till the end of the month, where they can try to defy gravity and apply some of the ninja moves, they fancy.

Music lovers are in for a treat as well with popular artists performing their favourite tunes throughout the festival. Performing artists include Oumaima, Ayed Youssef, Muslim, Siilawy and A5RASS, while the conclusive show goes to Mohamed Hamaki on New Year’s Eve.

MOTN offers several ‘adrenaline-rush’ moments including a Space Flight experience where one can float like a skydiving astronaut in an open-air wind tunnel while enjoying the Abu Dhabi Corniche skyline and sea in the background.

Horror fans can lose themselves in the Thrill Zone with the spine-tingling challenge offered by Five Nights at Freddy’s live. In teams of four, participants walk through a haunted hotel themed maze, ‘where the eerie world of the popular video game comes to life’. While the game does not require significant mental solving skills to walk through, its staged actors are on a mission to give participants a scare when least expected.

At the augmented games hall, one can practice their quick wit skills and extra cardio for the day, as the floor transforms into gaming screens. In teams of two, three or four, each section contains several challenges ranging from a simple digital football-like game, to following a disappearing trail, and jumping on golden balls while avoiding red ones in a rotating spin-wheel.

The event also takes into account visitors who are there mostly for ‘the gram’ with various space-themed and optical illusion photo opportunities at the Out of This World Museum including the cloud-filled Dream Nebula, Time Vortex and Cosmic Lab.

MOTN is open daily from 4pm to 12am and until 1am on New Year's Eve.

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