Author Archives: Lovegini

Saudi Arabia and Russia among five nations to unveil ambitious plans for global event

A gigantic window that opens to the sky and thousands of crystals suspended from the ceiling are part of Saudi Arabia’s eye-catching pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

The structure is among dozens of pavilions at the world’s fair site that opened to visitors on Friday.

Organisers said the number of record-breaking features, which include a striking 32-metre digital water feature that is almost two-thirds as high as the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, will make the Saudi pavilion a sure draw.It soars skywards in a design that celebrates the country’s past. It is also made to look like a giant window, offering viewers a glimpse into what Saudi Arabia’s future will look likeHussain Hanbazazah, Saudi Arabia Expo pavilion

The pavilion soars five-storeys high and is spread over an area the size of two football fields, making it second only to the UAE pavilion in size.

Visitors will have a different view each time they visit, with stunning designs that shoot multi-coloured bursts of light across sections, such as 8,000 LED floor lights and the world’s largest digital mirror screen.

Hussain Hanbazazah, commissioner general of Saudi Arabia, detailed the rich content on offer and how it reflected the country’s plans for the future.

“The Saudi Pavilion will not appear the same in the daytime as it will at night,” Mr Hanbazazah told The National.

“The lights will change depending on the content being played on the LED interactive digital mirror screen that is the largest in the world.

President of the International Publishers’ Association talks about the importance of the creative economy not just for job creation but for telling untold stories

All things considered, it’s been an incredible year for books from the African continent and diaspora. Senegalese writer Mohamed Mbougar Sarr won the Prix Goncourt, the biggest prize in French writing, for The Most Secret Memory Of Men. South African Damon Galgut took home The Booker Prize for The Promise – beating fellow South African Karen Jennings and British-Somalian author Nadifa Mohamed.

And Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah trumped the lot, winning the Nobel Prize in October for his “uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.”

Was this recognition of African writing pure coincidence or an intentional, long overdue global appreciation of African literary prowess? An indication of changing reader tastes or a reflection of the demand for more variety and originality? Speaking at today’s World Conference on Creative Economy at Expo 2020 Dubai, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi,president of the International Publishers’ Association and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kalimat Group, argued that the answer is all of those things, but more complex and nuanced, too.

The celebrated pop star used her performance at Al Wasl Plaza to release her eighth album ‘Keys’

There’s a high-concept idea behind Alicia Keys new album, Keys, and it’s all about contrast and variation. The first half, dubbed Originals, is a stripped-back collection of songs showcasing Keys at her most intimate, with her voice and much-celebrated piano work at the forefront. The second, Unlocked, offers a whole new perspective on those same songs, with added beats, loops and lush orchestrations.

Expo 2020 Dubai will have been delighted that Keys chose to celebrate the launch of that album at Al Wasl Plaza, on Friday, and the show certainly demonstrated all of her versatility, making for a hugely impressive but somewhat disjointed show.

It was billed as “Live in 360”, allowing people across the world to witness the show via streaming platforms, where they could pan around the venue from the comfort of their own living rooms; across the stage, into the audience and up to the skies, where gently oscillating purple blobs gave the sense of being imprisoned within a gigantic lava lamp.

In Dubai’s hugely competitive luxury hotel market, doing something new is harder than you might think. The city is already home to the world’s tallest hotel, the world’s only “seven-star” hotel and countless other luxury properties that tick every imaginable box from family-friendly to romantic, desert retreats to beachside.

And that is where the very soon-to-open Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort has things relatively easy.

As the first hotel to open on Dubai’s long-awaited World Islands, the hotel is already doing something different. Thankfully, in typical Anantara mode, that’s not quite enough for the luxury retreat that’s located on the South American continent of the World Islands development.

Instead, Anantara has created something unlike anything that already exists in the Emirates.https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1Vk7hVEJtcbIHTYk5p8LKQxNrdD39uCNU&ehbc=2E312F

The initial opening date is Saturday, December 18. Ahead of the big opening, The National was invited for a sneak peek behind the scenes at Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort.

As it’s located some four kilometres off the coast of Dubai, on the World Islands site closest to the mainland, guests staying at the resort will arrive and check in at Anantara Dubai The Palm.

From there a very sleek luxury speedboat will whisk guests across the Arabian Gulf on a 15-minute trip towards the private island paradise.

The football star is an ambassador of the world’s fair

Global football star Lionel Messi delighted fans after paying a surprise visit to Expo 2020 Dubai on Monday.

The Argentinian great – who was only in action for club side Paris St Germain on Sunday evening – swapped the pitch for the pavilions of the sprawling Dubai South site.

Messi, who recently clinched a record-breaking seventh Ballon d’Or award, carried a football during the trip as he posed near Expo’s popular waterfall attraction.READ MOREMessi marks three-month countdown to Expo 2020 Dubai

The prolific forward, widely viewed as one of the best players in the history of the sport, met Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Tolerance and Co-existence, and Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, during his tour.

The former Barcelona player acts as an ambassador for the global extravaganza.

In July, Expo organisers released a video showing him kicking a ball over the famed Al Wasl dome, to mark the three-month countdown to the event.

Controversial Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh has aired her opinion about a photoshopped picture of herself and her long time best friend, Bobrisky.

The photo showed self acclaimed “male Barbie”, Bobrisky, well built with muscles and six packs, unlike his original stature

Reacting to this, Tonto Dikeh took to her official Instagram page where she reposted the photo and claimed that she actually looks sexy in it.

She also beckoned on her personal plastic surgeon to find out if her height can be amended to fit the one in the photoshopped image

Popular reality star, Ka3na Jones, lambasts the veteran Nollywood actress, Ada Ameh, over her approach on reprimanding Kemi Olunloyo.

This comes after Ada Ameh called out the investigative journalist for being insensitive in reporting her findings on the case of a slain student, Sylvester Oromoni.

In reaction to the Ada’s video, Ka3na condemned the thespian for using insultive word often when addressing public issues.

Abebe says she’s no friends with the ‘radio girls’ in her industry.

On Air personality Moet Abebe [Instagram/MoetAbebe]

Popular On-Air personality Moet Abebe has revealed that most of her colleagues fight over the same men, gigs and sponsors.

In a post shared via her Instagram Stories, the OAP said those are the reason she has maintained a safe distance from her colleagues.

“I’m as real as real can be. With me is what you see is what you get. I see things for what they are. This is what this industry has taught me. Don’t lose yourself in all the sauce, don’t be deceived by all the fake smiles and pleasantries,” she wrote.

Me I dey my lane, all these media girls unite, radio girls hang out, you dey see me for there? Nope. Why? Because it is all smoke and mirrors. People fighting for the same men, gigs and sponsors.”

She finally issued a stern warning to everyone involved, advising them to stay away from her.

Nigerian rapper Mocheddah [Instagram/Mocheddah]

Nigerian rapper Mocheddah has recounted the excruciating pains she went through during pregnancy.

• Yusuff boasts

In a lengthy post shared via her Instagram page on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, the music star narrated how she was in pain for 25 weeks.

“I had hyperemesis gravidarum for the first 25 weeks of pregnancy, and when I tell you, it is the hardest thing I have ever experienced in life, and I doubt any-other thing can be more challenging or more painful,” she wrote.