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UAE Golden Jubilee: Sheikh Zayed Festival 2021 to feature special shows, new attractions

For the first time, Al Forsan International Sports Resort will join the event to offer a variety of sports-related activities

Celebrating the Year of 50th, the Sheikh Zayed Festival 2021 will open with the more than 22,500 performers and exhibitors, and new attractions including drones show, glow garden and ice-skating rink to name a few.

The Festival, named after the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, will run from November 18 to April 1, next year.

On Saturday, Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, Adviser to the UAE President, and Chairman of the Camel Racing Federation, Chairman of the High Committee organising the Sheikh Zayed Festival, inspected the preparations.

Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan pointed out that the festival has become a remarkable international event on Abu Dhabi’s global calendar, where different cultures and civilisations converge in harmony.

“The Festival has assumed prominent global status thanks to the support, follow-up and engagement of good leadership at the highest level, enabling it to achieve qualitative leaps, attracting, as it does, broad participation from Arab, Gulf and international nations, supporting efforts to spread the humane message of the UAE and showing the world that the UAE is a true melting pot of civilisations,” he said.

The Festival has a Year of the 50th Zone with a unique gallery highlighting the journey of the UAE over the past 50 years.

Humaid Saeed Al Neyadi, Director of the Private Office of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Deputy Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Festival, said there will be several special events to celebrate the UAE’s National Day.

“This edition of the Festival coincides with the UAE’s own golden jubilee, the UAE’s 50th National Day, and we will be celebrating this occasion with a full range of surprises and events including thousands of cultural activities that will educate and entertain all the family.”

The new additions include ‘miracle garden’ with a collection of famous buildings and illusion structures, ‘funfair city’ amusement park, ‘house of fear’ scary escape room, ‘crazy car’ go-karting, ‘extreme weekend’ off-road motorcycle racing, and a special kiosk at Expo 2020 Dubai. There will be more than 4,500 cultural events and 650 performances and events, and more than 130 workshops for children.

“The Festival contributes to strengthening Abu Dhabi's position as a leading tourist and cultural destination due to the regional and international participants of the Festival, establishing the emirate's prominent position on the map of cultural and heritage events across the world,” Al Neyadi added.

Visitors can enjoy several concerts, weekly fireworks, ever-popular fountain show, culinary experience, theatre and cultural pavilions, parades, military heritage music shows, Arabian horse show and Al Wathba custom car show.

For the first time, the Al Forsan International Sports Resort is also joining with a variety of sports-related activities for the whole family, including karting, archery, flight simulations, bungee jumping, zip lines, remote-controlled cars, horse arena and more.

All events will be held while taking all preventive health measures. The festival starts this Thursday from 4 pm till 12 am and till 1 am on Thursdays, Fridays and national holidays.