Kylie Minogue will give her first ever public concert in the Middle East at Dubai Festival City on November 21 2008. Tickets go on sale on September 24 and are available from www.boxofficeme.com.
The event is park of her X2008 Tour. A day earlier she will perform to 2,000 select guests at the official opening ceremony of the Atlantis resort.
Centimetercube, a Dubai-based architecture and design company, today announced the launch of Shufflegazine, a monthly magazine dedicated to all things Apple in the Middle East.
Shufflegazine is a monthly magazine about Apple products such as Mac, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, and more, and the lifestyle surrounding the use of these products in daily life whether it’s business or leisure. Shufflegazine presents a unique profile in the Middle East market because it is written in both English and Arabic and it’s entirely produced in the region. EmiratesMac Apple User Group previously published Shufflegazine under the name Shuffle.
Shufflegazine will continue where Shuffle has delivered since early 2007, in quality articles about Apple products, how people use these products in their lives and how businesses are run using them. The best in local news, commentary, reviews, tutorials, case studies, and more will be distributed to readers across the Middle East starting November. October will see the first issue of Shufflegazine be distributed in conjunction with GITEX in Dubai.
Morgans Hotel Group (MHG) has announced a new hotel at the Dubai Waterfront. The US-based boutique hotel company has signed an agreement to operate the Delano Dubai with an unnamed real estate development company under a long-term management contract.
The hotel is expected to offer 200 guest rooms, 100 branded residences, a restaurant, bar, and spa.
Marc Gordon, Chief Investment Officer at MHG said, ‘At MHG, our growth strategy has been to expand our properties to 24-hour gateway cities, both in the U.S. and internationally. We are pleased to announce MHG’s entry into the Middle East, a major milestone in the execution of our strategy to expand our brand to the world’s most exciting destinations. MHG has extended its efforts and resources in developing business outside of the US, and this transaction is the first of what we hope will be multiple new hotels in other parts of the world. Our properties are renowned by guests throughout the world and we look forward to leveraging our reputation as we enter new international markets.’
The Delano Dubai is expected to open in 2012.
A fire has broken out at the Atlantis hotel in Dubai. The blaze started at around 7.30 am in the main lobby just weeks before it was due to open on September 24. At the height of the fire, plumes smoke stretched more than one kilometre into the air.
Developers Nakheel have stated that the fire has now been extinguished and was contained in the lobby.
A new state-of-the-art theatre is currently being installed in The Planetarium at Dubai Children’s City. The full dome 3D system will offer an enhanced display with high levels of brightness and resolution, and will boast a screen area of 288 square metres.
Makiya Al Hajri, Head of the Children’s City, said ‘Visiting children would be able to explore the universe and the galaxy in a very exciting way thanks to the new display technology. From now onwards, these shows will be accompanied by live educational workshops that suit the tastes of children in different age groups who are visiting the planetarium.’
The new system is expected to be operational by October.
Hamleys, the famous UK toy retailer, will open a store at the Dubai Mall later this year. The shop, their first in Dubai, will cover an area of 32,000 square feet and stock over 15,000 lines of toys.
Mr Gudjon Reynisson, Chief Executive Officer of Hamleys, said, ‘Dubai is a logical step in our global expansion programme, as a significant number of our current customers in the UK are visitors from the Middle East. We are sure our customers will love the magical and exciting elements of Hamleys, which guarantees the best of past, present and future for children - both young and old at heart.’
The Dubai Mall will open for business on October 30 2008.
Dubai Properties has announced that The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence is now open for business. The 1.7 km long shopping promenade is currently home to more than 170 stores including Zadig, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nautica, Damas Jewellers, and Aiyanna of London. Once complete the outdoor retail avenue will feature over 300 shops.
Dubai Airports has announced that a phased transitional opening of Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport will commence on October 14 2008. The opening will be implemented in 4 phases to ensure that the problems encountered at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 earlier this year are avoided.
Terminal 3 will be used exclusively by Emirates airline and will almost double the airport’s passenger capacity from 34 million passengers per year to 60 million. It is specifically designed to handle Emirates’ fleet of Airbus A380 jumbo jets.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed an agreement with the Mohammed Omar Bin Haider Group to develop a fourth Crowne Plaza hotel in Dubai.
Located in the International Media Production Zone the hotel will offer 250 rooms, 70 serviced apartments, several restaurants, a rooftop bar, swimming pool, and gymnasium.
In March IHG announced the Crowne Plaza Business Bay. IHG already operate Crown Plaza hotels at the Trade Centre and Dubai Festival City.
Property developers Emaar has announced that the Dubai Mall will open on October 30 and not August 28 as reported earlier. The change of dates has been caused by delays in the construction of infrastructure facilities such as parking.