RECORDS FALL AS COUNTRY’S COLOURS FLY HIGH FOR NATIONAL DAY
▶ Large crowds ignore weather warnings to come out in force to mark 46th anniversary with displays and events for revellers of all ages
Spectacular jet fly-bys, fireworks displays and thousands of vehicles decked out in the colours of the UAE – and even a bit of rain – will be how this year’s National Day weekend will be remembered.
And that’s before you consider the universal joy among motorists when it was announced that Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, ordered that traffic fines nationwide would be reduced by 50 per cent, if paid in the next three months.
New highs were the order of the day in Dubai, as police arranged 143 cars in the shape of a smiley face at Global Village to mark the occasion – and set a Guinness World Record.
The weekend had pretty much something for everyone with red, green, white and black at the centre of most of the celebrations.
Cars from the Dubai Police fleet also lined up to form a giant UAE flag, with the help of 17 clubs, councils and car teams.
They beat Pepsi’s previous best of 121 cars and were also entered into Guinness World Records.
“The achievement of setting a world record is another feather in the Dubai Police’s cap of distinguished achievements,” Brig Gen Abdullah Al Ghaithi said.
At Meydan Grandstand, yet another Guinness World Record was attempted. More than 120 horses from the stables of Dubai Police tried to form the world’s largest parade.
A main stage near the Meydan Hotel was bustling with family activities, with a traditional souq and heritage zone ensured the celebrations kept a connection with the past.
As parents took in the sights and sounds of the nation’s proud past, their children were enjoying an inflatable obstacle course, arts, crafts, magic and puppet shows.
Stilt walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and clowns helped create the carnival
atmosphere for which National Day is becoming famous.
Meanwhile, at Jumeirah Beach Residence, theatre groups were on stage to help deliver a patriotic nod to the past and a history of the UAE delivered in song.
At Dubai Marina, National Day was being celebrated in an altogether different manner.
The world’s longest urban zipline began taking its first daredevils 170 metres up to the top of Amwaj Tower. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, was one of the first to try out the attraction, landing on a terrace at Marina Mall.
Weather warnings by the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology forecast cloud and heavy showers for Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but that did not stop people taking to parks and public spaces to enjoy the festivities. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company celebrated National Day by playing a special message on the new giant display on the facade of its capital headquarters.
Later, petrol-heads were served up their annual fix of motoring mayhem as professional and amateur drivers took to the track at Yas Marina for a few laps, revving luxury engines, screeching tyres and filling the air with exhaust fumes.
In the Abu Dhabi-Al Ain Classic, cyclists left from the Adnoc building and crossed the emirate, with British professional Mark Cavendish winning the inaugural 190-kilometre race.
Cavendish describing it as “an incredible day of cycling”.
The colours red, green, white and black were at the centre of most of the celebrations