100 Million Meals campaign: prestigious 'AA' Dubai licence plate to be auctioned to raise money

The emirate, series and number of a plate determine its value, with first few letters usually worth more

Dubai regularly holds auctions of prestigious car licence plates. Courtesy RTA

Dubai will auction one of the emirate's most prestigious car licence plates to raise money for the UAE's 100 Million Meals initiative.

Dubai AA 9 will go under the hammer on May 1 alongside several other private number plates.

The emirate, series and number of a plate determine its value, with first letters in the alphabet usually worth more.

Other plates up for grabs are Dubai U 31, Dubai E 51 and Dubai T 38.

The special Etisalat mobile numbers that will also be available at the sale are: 0569999999, 0569999993, 0549999993, and 0565555556.

The auction is being held in co-operation with Emirates Auction, RTA and Etisalat.

Dubai regularly holds auctions of prestigious licence plates.

In 2016, Indian businessman Balwinder Sahni paid Dh33 million for plate D5 – thought to be the most expensive sale on record worldwide.

The 100 Million Meals initiative aimed to collect Dh100 million to buy 100 million meals for people in 30 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

About $10 million (Dh36.6m) was pledged to at a special auction in Dubai for the cause on Saturday night.

Artworks by Nelson Mandela, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse and others went under the hammer.

A website set up for the campaign allowed the public to donate as little as Dh10 to fund 10 meals, rising to Dh500 or more.

The campaign also attracted several large donations from philanthropists both here and abroad, which collectively helped the campaign reach its target in only 10 days.