Dubai: Rhythm and Races

        Since 1996, Dubai has held one of the worlds premiere events for horse racing, The Dubai World Cup. Annually, the best thoroughbred horses from around the world are assembled for a night of racing. With a purse of US $10 million, The Dubai World Cup has become the worlds richest horse race. It is a flat race on a synthetic dirt surface allowing Northern Hemisphere Thoroughbred four-year-olds & up and for Southern Hemisphere Thoroughbred three-year-olds & up run over a distance of 2,000 meters.

         Neither the beautiful scenery, world class competition, or even the large purse can captivate everyones attention. One of the main events of Dubai World Cup 2010 isn't even the horses! March 27th, 2010, is a once in a lifetime chance to see two of arguably the greatest musicians of all time playing together on the same stage. Yes ladies and gentlemen, two of the greatest. 

         To celebrate the Dubai World Cup, event planners have invited Elton John and Carlos Santana to perform, which just adds to the prestige and excitement surrounding the Dubai World Cup. 

Anything is possible. 

photo courtesy of tabonline.com and Dubai World Cup

Abu Dhabi Ascends the Skies

       From artists to athletes, people from all professions and countries have been flocking to the United Arab Emirates for their over the top events. After hosting their first Grand Prix, first yacht show, art show, and even first wake boarding event, Abu Dhabi has set their eyes on something a little higher. 

       The wings of Red Bull have taken Abu Dhabi to the sky. The new sport of air racing is an international competition which is based on speed and precision. The top pilots from around the world assemble in different places to hurl themselves through constantly changing courses. A slight drop in temperature or small shift in wind can be very costly. 

       The 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship Season will begin March 26th-27th 2010 over the beautiful and always scenic Abu Dhabi Intercoastal. First flight of the season will take place in the scorching heat of this afternoon. 

Racing planes? Anything is possible.

Photo Courtesy of Red Bull

Abu Dhabi Atheltics

                                                    Photo credited to Jim Caple

The United Arab Emirates has made itself known for many things: size, scale, and scope of everything they do is above and beyond. But one thing they are not known for is athletics. Well, that is about to change. Outside of multiple unsuccssful bids for hosting the Olympics, the UAE is slowly, but surely making its way onto the athletic scene. 

As a start, Abu Dhabi is scheduled to host the Laureus World Sports Awards. This event celebrates the worlds greatest athletes from all sports and countries. The chairman of these prestigous awards, Edwin Moses, stated that "The Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony being held here at the Emirates Palace Wednesday night is a huge boost to the UAE and the region and will inspire young people to take up sport,". Mohammad Ebrahim Mahmoud, Secretary-General of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council is confident in the message being sent,"Abu Dhabi has hosted a lot of world class sports events. We want to go further and work harder to make Abu Dhabi a prime destination for sports and tourism."

Another event Abu Dhabi plans to host is the Abu Dhabi Wakestock 2010. "Wakestock Abu Dhabi represents the first stop on the prestigious 2010 WWA Wakeboard World Series as the sport's top 16 athletes compete off the shore of Al Sahil Beach for a share of the $50,000 prize and the title of Wakestock Abu Dhabi Champion 2010," according to Abu Dhabi Wakestock's official website. Just another way for the United Arab Emirates to solidfy its position in the world of sports. Anything is possible.

UAE Oasis

        Have you ever seen an oasis in the desert? If you haven't seen one, I am sure you have heard of one. Towering green palm trees and trickling rivers of water thrown in the midst of a desert, sound familiar? Well, now you may actually have a chance to see such spectacles. The United Arab Emirates is dedicated to transforming their vast amounts of desert into an industry leading producer and supplier of palm trees for the world.

"His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahayan, there are continual efforts to increase UAE date palm productivity in order to make better use of the date palm industry and to produce an agricultural leap that will change the face of the UAE desert", according to the World News Network. The UAE's dedication has been displayed by the recently 42 million date palms already planted in the desert. 

Who would of thought, a modern oasis coming to a desert near you? Anything is possible.

Dubai: The New Disney Land?

If you haven't heard about United Arab Emirates or don't know what they have been up to lately then this should be a quick tutorial. Fifteen short years ago, Dubai was but a desert vast land with more dollar signs in oil then actual sand. With oil and the uses of oil in a paradox of diminishing demand, the country realized that the cash cow they were living on will soon be gone. In an attempt to create a new name and establish itself internationally, Dubai has spurred an astonishingly ambitious plan to turn their desert land into an international tourist mecca.

Have they succeeded? According to Hotelscombined.com, a leading hotel search engine, Dubai is set to be among the top five international destinations for U.S. tourists in 2011. Hotelscombined.com's general manager Hichame Assi reported "Dubai has previously had to compete with traditional European cities such as London, Rome and Paris. However, today, Dubai is in the top cities list." With an untapped international destination waiting to be exploited, how long until we hear rumors of Disney Dubai? 

        Mickey wasn't meant for the desert, but anything is possible.