thankful thursday: congratulations dubai!

Yes, you guessed it…Dubai will be hosting Expo 2020! Yaaaay! And since it’s the country’s 42nd National Day on the 2nd of December, it’s a double celebration for the Emiratis and expats here.

I love that the nation celebrates all of its achievements, and always in a big way. Like last night, as soon as Dubai was declared as the winning bidder, Burj Khalifa lit up with colorful fireworks. 

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This was shortly followed by an announcement that all schools and educational institutions would be closed today. 

Then to begin the day this morning, Sheikh Hamdan went up to the top of the tallest building in the world to wave the UAE flag.  You can see the video here. 

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And early this afternoon for 2 hours, Baskin Robbins outlets shared the sweet victory by giving away free ice-cream. 

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No matter who you are or where you go, you can’t miss the cheerful mood in the atmosphere. Even if you’re not that into it, the thrill and excitement will eventually rub on you as you go around the city and look at all the festivities.

Truly, it’s a great time to be in Dubai now. And I, for one, am proud that I’m here. I sure hope my family and I will still be in the emirate to witness and experience Expo 2020. Because knowing Dubai, it won’t be anything less than amazing.

Well done to the government and people for winning the Expo 2020 bid!

And Happy 42nd National Day to the entire UAE!

4 bidders, 1 host for expo 2020

Who among these cities and their themes will win the Expo 2020 bid?

Connecting Minds, Creating the Future

The Global Mind

New Routes to a Better World / Health for All

 

Power of Diversity, Harmony for Growth

If you’re in Dubai, you can’t miss the buzz of excitement that began since this morning. For several months, the emirate has been adorned with signs and billboards with its Expo 2020 logo and theme bid.  All of us have been invited to "Be part of it."  There’s no mistaking that practically everyone in the UAE wants Dubai to win because it would mean more job opportunities and more money coming in.

Compared to the other 3 competitors, I personally think that Dubai really stands out and deserves to win. Its location is accessible to everyone, it has grown so fast from a big sandpit to an iconic city with amazing buildings and state-of-the-art infrastructure, and I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the world where you can find a place that has as many nationalities co-existing with each other. It’s a nice place for a short tour or visit, but it’s a great place that you’d enjoy living in for a long time as well.

So, who’s going to host Expo 2020? We’ll find out at 8:30pm tonight.