ABU DHABI // Venues across the emirate are gearing up for the hordes of fans expected to turn up to watch the matches. Some have taken an original approach.
Front-row seats in the Sheraton Corniche will be in the pool on inflatable chairs, but if fans prefer their feet on the ground, there will be beanbags to watch the match from on a big screen.
The Shangri-La has erected an air-conditioned tent. "We are expecting it to be busy for the next few weeks. The tent can take 300 to 350 people," said Ahmed Issa, the director of food and beverage at the Shangri-La complex.
He said orders for supplies had peaked in anticipation of large crowds.
Yacoob Abba Omar, the South African ambassador, will watch today's opening match between South Africa and Mexico at the Millennium Hotel.
Emirates Palace will show the games live in 3D. There will be no charge, but fans will have to reserve their spaces on the golden couches in the 3D Golden Goal Lounge.
Sami Nassouri, 28, said he would watch the games in 3D if he got the opportunity. "It would be really interesting to watch the games in 3D and see what all the hype is about."
Besides the Golden Goal Lounge, Mr Nassouri will watch some of the games from home and others with friends in cafes around Abu Dhabi. "I have subscribed to the E-Vision package and I am still waiting for it to be installed. If that doesn't come, I'll have to go to a friend's house to watch some of the games."
Sherif Nagy, 32, from Egypt, said he would watch the matches at home with a few friends so that he could concentrate on the football.
"I've felt as if I was dreaming for the last week because of the line-up of matches. Nigeria and Argentina play before England and the US. I can't wait," said Mr Nagy.
In Al Ain, coffee shops and shisha cafes are preparing for capacity crowds with extra chairs, tables and flat-screen television sets.
The Cabana Cafe, in Al Jimi, has the World Cup schedule prominently displayed on its door.
Layali Al Andalus is Hilli Industrial District's most up-market coffee and shisha lounge. Its Egyptian manager, Ahmad Mustafa, 32, expects plenty of people to flock there to view the games on its two 50-inch TV sets.
Layali Al Ain restaurant and shisha cafe, on the upper level of Al Jimi Mall, expects to host about 200 people for matches and, each day, will fly the flags of whatever countries are playing.
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
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- Julaidah Abdulfatah (Saudi Arabia) beat Martin Kabrhel (Czech Rep) POINTS
- Kem Ljungquist (Denmark) beat Mourad Omar (Egypt) TKO
- Michael Lawal (UK) beat Tamas Kozma (Hungary) KO
- Zuhayr Al Qahtani (Saudi Arabia) beat Mohammed Mahmoud (UK) POINTS
- Darren Surtees (UK) beat Kane Baker (UK) KO
- Chris Eubank Jr (UK) beat JJ McDonagh (Ireland) TKO
- Callum Smith (UK) beat George Groves (UK) KO
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
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November 30, December 1-2
International Vets
Christina Noble Children’s Foundation fixtures
Thursday, November 30:
10.20am, Pitch 3, v 100 World Legends Project
1.20pm, Pitch 4, v Malta Marauders
Friday, December 1:
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Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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