Open Skies | April 2016

THE MACHINE THAT COULD SAVE THE OCEAN

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Cate Blanchett

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1400 years of art in one day.

The art of architecture. An architecture for art.

Inspired and inspiring.

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

www.visitqatar.gov.qa

Jackson’s family rings designed by and created by

Jermaine

A LEVEL ABOVE

BREATHTAKING

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Editor-in-ChiEf Managing PartnEr & grouP Editor EditoriaL dirECtor grouP Editor SEnior Editor digitaL / Print dESignEr digitaL aniMator Sub Editor EditoriaL aSSiStant

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Ian Fairservice Gina Johnson gina@motivate.ae Mark Evans marke@motivate.ae Andrew Nagy andrew.nagy@motivate.ae Ralph Mancao ralph@motivate.ae Surajit Dutta surajit@motivate.ae Salil Kumar salil@motivate.ae Londresa Flores londresa@motivate.ae

ContributorS

Andrew Birbeck, Marina Chetner, Gemma Correll, Daniel Huffman, Jamie Knights, Vincent Long, Matt Mostyn, Gareth Rees, Rebecca Rees, Sandra Tinari, Stuart Turton, Cover: Ralph Mancao ChiEf CoMMErCiaL offiCEr Anthony Milne anthony@motivate.ae gEnEraL ManagEr ProduCtion S Sunil Kumar ProduCtion ManagEr R Murali Krishnan

grouP SaLES dirECtor Craig L. W. Wagstaff craig.wagstaff @motivate.ae

grouP SaLES ManagEr Jaya Balakrishnan jaya@motivate.ae

PubLiShEr Martin Balmer martin.balmer @motivate.ae

SEnior SaLES ManagEr Shruti Srivastava shruti.srivastava@ motivate.ae

rEgionaL ManagEr abu dhabi Imane Eddinari Imane@motivate.ae

dEPuty SaLES ManagEr Amar Kamath EditoriaL ConSuLtantS for EMiratES Editor Manna Talib arabiC Editor Hatem Omar dEPuty Editor Catherine Freeman WEbSitE emirates.com InternatIonal MedIa representatIves auStraLia/nEW ZEaLand Okeeffe Media; Tel + 61 894 472 734, okeeffekev@bigpond.com.au bELgiuM and LuXEMbourg M.P.S. Benelux; Tel +322 720 9799, francesco.sutton@mps-adv.com China Publicitas Advertising; Tel +86 10 5879 5885 gErMany IMV Internationale Medien Vermarktung GmbH; Tel +49 8151 550 8959, w.jaeger@imv-media.com hong Kong/MaLaySia/thaiLand Sonney Media Networks; Tel +852 2151 2351, hemant@sonneymedia.com india Media Star; Tel +91 22 4220 2103, ravi@mediastar.co.in JaPan Tandem Inc.; Tel + 81 3 3541 4166, all@tandem-inc.com nEthErLandS giO media; Tel +31 (0)6 22238420, giovanni@giO-media.nl PaKiStan D&S International News Agency; Tel +92 3235345727, dnsnewsagency@gmail.com SWitZErLand, franCE/itaLy & SPain IMM International; Tel +331 40 1300 30, n.devos@imm-international.com turKEy Media Ltd.; Tel +90 212 275 51 52, mediamarketingtr@medialtd.com.tr uK Spafax Inflight Media; Tel +44 207 906 2001, nhopkins@spafax.com uSa Totem Brand Stories; Tel +1 4168475100, nicole.mullin@tc.tc Emirates takes care to ensure that all facts published herein are correct. In the event of any inaccuracy please contact the editor. Any opinion expressed is the honest belief of the author based on all available facts. Comments and facts should not be relied upon by the reader in taking commercial, legal, financial or other decisions. Articles are by their nature general and specialist advice should always be consulted before any actions are taken.

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114,149 copies July – December 2015 Printed by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai, UAE

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E D I T O R ’ S

L E T T E R

ANDREW NAGY

ON THE COVER

SENIOR EDITOR

B

oyan Slat looks like he should be in One Direction. He’s fresh-faced, spor ts a boy band haircut and appears; well, like any other 22-year-old young man, really. But Boyan Slat might just change the world.

As young boy on a family holiday he noticed heavy plastic pollution in the waters of Greece. I’ll leave our writer, Andrew Birbeck, to fill you in on the details, but the gist of it is this: he went home, thought about the problem and – this bit’s crucial as it’s where

ready to go by 2020. It’s inspiring stuff.

If our cover stor y is looking at saving the planet, our second main feature, while not quite as lofty, is no less vital to the people living in Basque countr y. After a decades-long struggle for independence, the people of San Sebastián are hoping that their status as a European Capital of Culture will help promote the unique life they enjoy.

A city with a fierce sense of pride, its ar tistic community has come together and there are big plans in place for

“YOU MIGHT NOT THINK IT TO LOOK AT HIM, BUT THIS YOUNG MAN COULD ACTUALLY CHANGE THE WORLD” most of us fall down when it comes to saving the world – he decided to do something about it.

In 2013, Slat formed The Ocean Cleanup, a company aimed at dealing with the estimated eight million tons of plastic that enters the ocean ever y year. It’s been called the unsolvable problem and, in the course of the last three years, he’s faced no small amount of scorn and raised eyebrows at the suggestion that his ideas can work.

However, his testing has been positive and if all goes to plan, the largest ocean cleanup operation in histor y could be

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the rest of year, with a programme that promotes peace and unity. If San Sebastián isn’t on your travel list for 2016, then it really should be.

Finally, perhaps not quite as freshfaced as Boyan Slat (but no less impressive) is Gordon Ramsay. He’s built a reputation on fine food, a fier y temper, and an occasionally foul mouth.

But as we sat down to dinner with him this month, we discovered a different side to the Scot. Head to page 31 to see why he had to change, and how his business empire is just getting star ted.

Enjoy the issue.

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LOOK OUT FOR THIS ICON ON EACH STORY IN OPEN SKIES FOR AN INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF EMIRATES

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THE MACHINE THAT COULD SAVE THE OCEAN For this month’s cover image, our designer, Ralph Mancao, gave his interpretation of a vital piece of equipment in Ocean Cleanup project’s bid to rid the sea of its plastic. Head to page 60 for more.

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C O N T E N T S

FRONT

22 26 28 31 36 Experience

Flashback

Entrepreneur

Lunch With

Stay

42 53 Neighbourhood

Local Knowledge

MAIN

60 68 What Lies Beneath

Breaking The Storm

BRIEFING

84 88 92 94 96 Emirates News

Inside Emirates

Destination

Comfort

98 100 104 106 UAE Smart Gate

Route Map

The Fleet

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Knowledge

Visas, Quick Connect & Quarantine Information

C O N T R I B U T O R S

APRIL Some of the people who helped create this issue of Open Skies ANDREW BIRBECK

MARINA CHETNER

JAMIE KNIGHTS

VINCENT LONG

Andrew is an Edinburgh-born author, writer and blogger who contributes to a broad range of titles. This month he wrote on a young man from the Netherlands who has come up with an idea that could rid our oceans of plastic.

Marina is an Australian-born writer based in Los Angeles.

This month she writes about West Hollywood – a neighbourhood where, if you hang around long enough, you just might catch a glimpse of the great and the good.

Jamie is a freelance writer based in the UK and a regular contributor to Open Skies. He loves interviewing extraordinary people, and this month he speaks to comic book legend Stan Lee, and double Grand National Winner Carl Llewellyn – both pretty amazing in their own, very different ways.

Vincent is a photographer and filmmaker based in Mexico City who has wandered the world for the last 15 years. His work has appeared in Esquire UK, The New York Times and Mercedes magazine Australia.

This month he photographed the rapidly changing face of West Hollywood.

“The story of Boyan Slat and the Ocean Cleanup project is truly inspirational – proof that vision, guts and sheer determination really can help change the world for the better.”

“If you’re waiting to be discovered, then head to West Hollywood. I’m only half kidding, but it is a great spot for people watching. Drive in via Sunset Boulevard – it’s also lined with the best billboards ever.”

GARETH REES

“Stan Lee has given the world so many superheroes and it turns out he is one himself.

At 93 he is still delighting his fans.”

“I love the light in LA. It seems to envelope everything you see in a soft romantic glow, even at midday. It’s also a pretty great city to see on a bicycle.”

REBECCA REES

SANDRA TINARI

STUART TURTON

Gareth is a UK-based freelance writer who covers food to travel to celebrity profiles, including Tony Blair’s spin doctor Alastair Campbell and football legend Pele. This month he writes on San Sebastián.

Rebecca is a UK-based photographer whose work has appeared in titles including the Financial Times and Brownbook. This month she shot the creatives of San Sebastián in Basque country.

Sandra is an Australian freelance journalist and photographer, based in Dubai, and a regular contributor to Open Skies. This month she wrote on the MB&H M.A.D. Gallery in Al Quoz.

“In January, it wasn’t the sunny San Sebastián of the travel glossies.

It rained, but I learned more about what makes it tick, in three days speaking with its creative community, than I would have done during a twoweek summer holiday.”

“Spending time in a destination that has been on my must-visit list for years is always exciting, but I could happily move to San Sebastián tomorrow. The people are lovely and the city has a comfortable, livedin feel. ”

“Fantastical and whimsical, Dubai’s M.A.D. Gallery certainly lives up to its name.

Passionately crafted and engineered the artworks were mesmerising... although for an Australian the shark was slightly daunting.”

Stuar t is a freelance journalist specialising in travel and technology. He spends a lot of time going in the wrong direction, grumbling at smar tphones and trying to remember where he left his house keys. This month he writes on Vienna.

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“The only difficulty in writing about the brilliant city of Vienna is not mentioning the band Ultravox. I managed it, but the eighties really do have a lot to answer for.”

Carefully curated content focused on unique experiences MB&F M.A.D. Gallery

Lunch With

Stay

Neighbourhood

31

36

42

53

FRONT

E x p E r i E n c E

APRIL 7 – 9

MIDDLE EAST FILM AND COMIC CON Dubai, uae

More than 70,000 devotees have heard the summons and will descend on Dubai World Trade Centre for Middle East Film And Comic Con this month. Probably dressed as their favourite character and ready to pose at a minute’s notice, they might just get the chance to interact with Mr Marvel himself, Stan Lee. The 93-year-old creator of SpiderMan, X-Men and Iron Man is a big fan of what’s happening in the region, and felt determined to contribute, even though he won’t be here in person. “MEFCC keeps

getting bigger and bigger every year,” says Lee. “I’m really looking forward to speaking to my fans and answering any question they want to throw at me. Pop culture and the entire movement is very relatable and attending comic con is just super fun,” he continues. “To me, writing stories isn’t working; it’s like sharing enjoyment with countless friends around the world.”

Other headline appearances include Christopher Lloyd, loved for his role as Emmett ‘Doc’ Brown in the Back To The Future trilogy, and Veronica Taylor, the voice

actor behind Pokémon’s Ash Ketchum and April O’Neil in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.

Lee says fans should definitely try to meet comic book writer and artist Whilce Portacio. “He’s a good artist, but he’s also a good person and fun to talk to.”

If that isn’t enough, all ticket holders are eligible to enter a draw for a chance to win a trip to Los Angeles and walk the red carpet alongside Lee at the premiere of Captain America: Civil War. mefcc.com

Check out the Marvel section on ice for films like Marvel’s The Avengers , Thor, Captain America and the Iron Man movies. Channels 450-458 on ice Digital Widescreen.

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WorDs: JAMIE KNIGHTs, IMAGE: GETTy

STAN LEE, THE lEGENDAry MAN bEHIND MArvEl, ExplAINs HoW THIs MoNTH’s MIDDlE EAsT FIlM AND CoMIC CoN Is THE MosT FuN you CAN HAvE IN AN AFTErNooN

E x p E r i E n c E

APRIL 9

THE CRABBIE’S GRAND NATIONAL LIVERPOOOL, UK

It’s fair to say that The Grand National reaches parts that few sporting events around the world can reach.

Crucially, it captures the imagination of those who don’t even follow the sport, and this year’s edition will prove no different.

Now an assistant race horse trainer, legendary jockey Carl Llewellyn won the race in 1992 on Party Politics and 1998 on Earth Summit (pictured). “The National is a great British tradition and, as a jockey, it’s just a massive day in your career,” he says. “The adrenaline leading up to, and during, the

race is Iike no other situation I’ve faced.”

It’s hard to imagine the tension as around 40 horses line up waiting to burst forward towards the first jump – a small fence that gets a lot of fallers due to the horses starting too fast.

“Riding down to the first fence is a mad rush of adrenaline mixed with nerves, but knowing that you can’t let these feelings affect your riding,” Llewellyn explains.

Riding in it is one, thing, but what’s it actually like to win the race? “As a child,” says Llewellyn, “I dreamt of riding in the

National, so the feeling of winning it is very hard to describe. Sheer, deep happiness,” he says, eventually. “And relief as well.”

That joy is reserved for just a few, but the masses can get their race fix by attending.

If you’re there to watch, Lleyellyn says, “Allow time to have a good look around to get a feel for the place, then secure a spot early for the parade ring viewing. Don’t stray too far from the winner’s enclosure to watch the race and get back to welcome the new winner.” thecrabbiesgrandnational.co.uk

For more about horse racing, tune in to ice Digital Widescreen’s Horse Racing channel 1213 or Godolphin on channel 1328.

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WoRDs: JAMIE KNIGHTs, IMAGE: GETTy

CARL LLEwELLyN HAD A GlITTERING cAREER As A NATIoNAl HuNT JocKEy AND WoN THE GRAND NATIoNAl TWIcE DuRING THE 1990s. HERE’s WHAT IT’s lIKE To RIDE THIs MoNTH’s bIG RAcE

F l a s h b a c k

how James Brown saved Boston In APrIl 1968, As The Us cIvIl rIghTs TensIons greW, IT WAs lefT To The goDfATher of soUl To mAke sense of IT All You could say that Dr Martin Luther King and James Brown were different sides of the same coin. Both were leading voices in the African-American Civil Rights movement, but where King preached peaceful protest, Brown was more than happy to use force to get his point across.

Although their methods were radically different, the respect between the two was great, and as Brown took to the stage at the Boston Garden on April 5, 1968 – the day after King’s assassination – it was the reverend’s words that guided him through what would be the most important show of his career.

In 1968, the US was a country under incredible racial and social tension. The Watts riots had occurred just three years earlier and a powder keg mood prevailed.

The previous summer had seen violence in Detroit, Newark, Tampa and Buffalo, and King feared that America was a nation on the verge of a race war. Then, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, he was shot dead. America held its breath.

Cities in the north and south reacted violently to the news, and Boston looked like being next. It was a city on the brink. At first the reaction from the Garden was to cancel the show, but the city felt that the key to safety lay in keeping people off the streets, and local councilman Tony Atkins had a plan. They wouldn’t just keep the show on, they’d televise it.

But while the show might have been going ahead, an uneasy atmosphere remained, and even members of Brown’s band have since said they feared they would be shot that night.

The Garden wasn’t full – the TV deal had seen to that – but no sooner had Brown begun to perform I Can’ Stand Myself, a few people in the crowd tried to

jump on stage. The police reacted with force – a move that would surely have sent the situation spiralling out of control had it not been for Brown’s interjection. “Wait a minute, wait a minute,” he pleaded – with the crowd as much as with the police. “Let me talk to them.” Eventually, the crowd

would heed his words and leave the stage.

Brown read the crowd perfectly that night. He shook hands, he touched heads, he chose his words carefully. He understood what they wanted… knew what they needed. That night, thanks to James Brown, Boston remained quiet.

Hall of fame

THE OnLy PLACE FOR ROCk ‘n’ ROLL ROyALTy James Brown was part of the first group of artists to be inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1986, taking his place alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and more.

His fame, along with that of every iconic artist you care to mention, lives on here, making it a pilgrimage for any serious music fan. rockhall.com

The James Brown Playlist is on channel 3066 on ice Digital Widescreen, featuring a collection of the legendary singer’s greatest hits.

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E n t r E p r E n E u r

Wenckstern / Hotrod citytour Hamburg, germany

Words: AndreW BirBeck imAges: ThorsTen BAering And mAik WencksTern | 28 |

E N T R E P R E N E U R

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

M

aik Wenckstern had his eureka moment while messing about on a self-drive lawnmower.

It’s probably fair to say that he’s in the minority in that respect.

However, some ideas are fun, pure and simple, and the Wenckstern mini-hotrod is one of them. Many of us, of a certain age at least, will remember cobbling together a go-kart as a kid. All you needed was a couple of bicycle wheels, a crate and a rope for steering. Then imagination took over and tearing downhill felt like winning the Monaco Grand Prix. It’s that sense of fun and adventure that Wenckstern set out to recapture.

“We wanted to create something that had never been seen before,” he says. “I grew up on motorbikes as my Dad was a motocross fanatic, so I was always into customising them.” Naturally, a hobby is one thing, a viable business proposition another.

“We built our very first Wenckstern for a good friend,” he continues. “He loved it and it attracted a lot of attention. At the same time, we concentrated on patenting the design and making sure that the vehicle was completely roadworthy and street legal. It was a long battle with the German MOT, over two years, but we finally got approval in 2010.”

Post-product launch the idea was to sell individual cars to like-minded enthusiasts. In those early days Wenckstern and a group of pals would often take to the roads

in and around Hamburg at weekends, forming what was an eye-catching convoy.

“Whenever we stopped people would come up to us and ask where we got the vehicles and, more importantly, if they were available to rent.” Like any good entrepreneur Wenckstern thought, why not? Over the following year he hatched a plan to set up the first Hotrod Citytour in his native city. It opened to the public in 2013 and “took off straight away.

People were, and still are, crazy about the concept”, he says. “It’s a fantastic way to see a city, great fun, with the added bonus of taking you back to your childhood.”

Driving your own Wenckstern for an hour or two certainly beats the usual staid tourist itineraries and designated tours. And, although the tour takes place in a group with a trained leader, the overwhelming feeling is that of freedom. All you need is a clean driving licence. It really couldn’t be easier.

From that first tentative step back in 2013, expansion has been rapid. The Hotrod Citytour has become quite a phenomenon, with rental stations now at various locations throughout Germany, Austria and even Spain. Asked what lies behind it, Wenckstern explains, “I guess it really captured people’s imaginations.

Something different to do that you’ll never forget. But, to be honest, we truly never expected such success so quickly.”

Yet no start-up is without teething problems and hiccups along the way. “I’m

Emirates flies to four destinations in Germany – Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Düsseldorf.

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After a tour of Hamburg in a Wenckstern the best place to grab a drink is…

Strand Pauli Beach Club next to the Hotrod Citytour Station.

To experience Hamburg like a local go to…

The Port, the Reeperbahn, the new district Hafencity, and Portugiesenviertel.

You’ll find the best views at…

20 Up at the Riverside Hotel – floor-toceiling windows overlooking the harbour.

To eat like a local head for…

One of the fish restaurants at the port. Nothing better.

The best advice I can give is…

Do what’s fun, work hard and never lose respect for the people you work with.

very lucky. I love what I do and every day is different and exciting,” says Wenckstern.

“Sometimes it’s a little stressful but giving up is not in my vocabulary.”

As for the future, tentative steps are the key. “At the moment we’re concentrating on Europe, but we’ve had lots of enquiries to set up rental stations all over the world.

In time I hope to see Wencksterns for hire in places like Cape Town and Dubai.” hotrod-citytour.com

L u n c h

w i t h

Gordon ramsay With 36 restaurants, 16 Michelin stars, countless TV credits and more than a few curse words, he’s been a full-frontal assault on the culinary world for 21 years. But as we meet in Dubai, Gordon Ramsay seems... different WORDS: AnDReW nAgy imAgeS: Alex AtAck

G

ordon Ramsay is bouncing around Bread St Kitchen his latest – and second – Dubai restaurant. Nothing unusual there, you might think, but he’s had a long day and our dinner is his last appointment. His new restaurant still isn’t quite ready to open (even though it will in a matter of hours) but there’s something spritely about him that I can’t quite put my finger on.

It’s interesting to watch the 49-year-old in action. His chef ’s jacket is on and his word is clearly law, but he’s rather relaxed about it all.

It’s still typical staccato Ramsay-speak, but he laughs and jokes with his team, grabs cleaning staff and has photos with them, asks their names, and chats. This is not the rather angry chef who once ejected food critic AA Gill and his superstar dining partner, Joan Collins, from Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London, and it’s difficult to work out why. Is this the real Ramsay or simply the nous of a man who knows there’s media in the room and, over the course of the last 20 years, he has learned how to play the game well?

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L u n c h

w i t h

i became famous because i’m a master of my craft, it didn’t happen just because i was on television “Two years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night when we were shooting Costa Del Nightmares,” starts Ramsay, at my suggestion that he appears a man reborn. “I was just about to start my second day filming with a guy who had ran a ski resort, then decided to open a restaurant in the South of France. I just thought, **** it, I’m done. I’m fed up of working with idiots who think they can jump into an industry in which they have no credentials. They have a dinner party, at which their mates tell them how good they are, then all of a sudden, think they can open a restaurant. That’s how stupidly they think. You can’t become a doctor if you haven’t gone to medical school, you can’t become a lawyer if you haven’t passed the bar…” He tails off, still clearly agitated by the thought.

“So I cancelled my own show.”

Ramsay’s own entry in the culinary world is a well-documented piece of folklore these days. Once injury robbed him of his dream of becoming a footballer, his desire simply became finding a route out.

“I did it to get away, pure and simple,” explains Ramsay on why he took an HND course in hotel management at 19. “You can travel

anywhere in the world and pick up a job without any big credentials.

I thought that I was going to be the manager of a five-star hotel, but it was just an escape route, really. I ended up getting a job in a kitchen and the idea was to spend two years in London and then develop. I ended up being there much longer as I worked with Marco [Pierre White] at Harveys, and that was the turning point in my career. Eventually he set me up at the Michelin-starred French restaurant, Le Gavroche, and that set me up to go to France.

Heading there was crucial. Go there, learn French, cook better.”

As we talk, the starters arrive. A plate of Ramsay’s signature tamarind chicken wings – sweet, sticky comfort food at its finest – and a swirling bowl of pea soup with a fantastic touch of spice that hits the back of the throat with every mouthful. I eat, Ramsay talks.

On his return to England in 1993, success was swift. Reunited with Pierre White as head chef at the newly named Aubergine, he won his first Michelin star within 14 months, and a second three years later. Unfortunately, his time there would end in rather inauspicious circumstances 12 months later, by virtue of a helmetclad motorcyclist walking into Aubergine to steal the reservation book and an eventual threat of legal action by White.

Rightly or wrongly, it was events such as these that suddenly made being a chef, or a restaurateur, seem, well… kind of cool.

TV executives clearly thought so too, and the whole affair was documented in the first episode of Boiling Point, Ramsay’s first foray into the world of television.

“Boiling Point – that was a very naked exposé,” he admits with a shudder. “It was brutal and that’s what it’s like in the industry, when you’re standing at the coalface trying to make it and climb the ladder.”

A five-part mini-series, Boiling Point charted the most intense months of his life, as he opened his first restaurant. While he still looks a little traumatised by the experience, it was the show that brought him to public attention and helped achieve the type of stardom he has today… just don’t call him a celebrity.

“I think celebrity is the wrong word,” he says, clearly a little irked by the connotation it brings. “I became famous for my talent – I’m a master of my craft – I didn’t become famous because I was on TV. Take it from me, some of that work has really put me in the ****.”

It’s a fair point, but while his moments in the mire have certainly been well documented, when he’s being mobbed like a member of One Direction at the restaurant’s opening just a few hours later, his fame does appear rather more enjoyable, even to him.

Whatever the reality, it’s undeniable that Ramsay’s talent, drive, bombast and no small amount of curse words have created a behemoth brand. At the time of writing Gordon Ramsay Holdings – which presides over his restaurant and media and consultancy interests – has amassed 23 restaurants across the globe, nine of which currently hold 12 Michelin stars between them.

The main courses soon appear out of nowhere. Braised feather blade that lies delicately on a bed of carrot purée and creamed wild mushrooms, along with a seriously huge plate of organic lamb chops accompanied by hand-cut chips.

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L u n c h

“I was 27 when I opened my first ever restaurant – Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London that’s held three Michelin stars since 2001. I’m 48 now, so that’s 21 years in the business and I think it’s finally starting to come to fruition in terms of the effort I’ve put in.”

It’s a statement that, on the face of it, seems a little strange. Ramsay has been a very public presence for the best part of 15 years, with Michelin stars, high-profile restaurants and numerous television credits to his name. But then perhaps the key to the clear change in demeanour is that, suddenly, he’s looking at things a little differently.

“Five years ago we completely transformed the group. I basically sacked all of the family who had worked for me. I’d shown way too much trust in Chris [Hutcheson, Ramsay’s father-in-law, who allegedly syphoned money off the company], so I felt somewhat let down.

“The way I looked at it, the key was repositioning, gaining strength and doing it my way; planning succession, and pacing it was vital. I said no to pretty much everything for two years and focused on

getting fit was the key to everything. i started training for triathlons, you become less distracted, more focussed, more creative America. We opened three places in Vegas and just took America on. We took them on at a burger, took them on at a steak and took them on at a gastro pub. We learned a lot from that.”

Another thing he’s keen to point out is, despite the undeniable ego, it’s not all about Ramsay. “It doesn’t all hinge on me. It’s not a house of cards. That means more pressure on the team to come to me with the solution, not the problem. When I started, I took the problem. It was a heavy burden. But when I looked at it, they all wanted to be shareholders, they all wanted to have their revenue driven and make a lot of money out of it, but for that percentage of the profits they have to come to me with the solution. This doesn’t happen overnight, of course, it’s two or three baby steps at first and you need to be there to occasionally pick up the pieces, but when they get there you find that very little **** comes back to your doorstep.

“It also helps answer that awkward question of, ‘If you’re such a famous chef, who does the cooking when you’re not there?’ Well the answer is: the same people who do it when I am there. I have that level of unselfishness in terms of teaching people how to cook properly. So it’s a team effort.”

If this sounds like the actions of a world-weary chef stepping back and scaling down the operation so he can finally enjoy the fruits of his labour, Ramsay disagrees. “There’s so much going on, but I feel that I’m currently the best I’ve ever been. I’m the fittest and I’m the most in control. Experience helps.You manage better, you’re a little less frivolous, but getting fit has been vital. Five years ago I started training for triathlons and it just increases your levels of thought. By

w i t h

training I spent far more time alone, was less distracted and became much more creative. When I came into work I was focussed.You then departmentalise who you’re dealing with and what you need to do. Then you shut it down and move on to the next thing.”

For Dubai, that next thing is Bread St Kitchen, the restaurant that Ramsay describes as “the bedrock of his brand”. Occupying the space once held by Rostang at Atlantis The Palm, it’s a modern bistro serving British classics and it’s, well, huge.Two kitchens – one hot, one cold counter – and a long bar as you walk in; the ceilings are high, lighting low and the floor’s punctuated with leather booths and dark wood pillars. It’s a stylish addition to Dubai’s culinary set, and one clearly not content to survive on the name of its superstar owner.

Since opening in October last year, it has already cemented a solid reputation for a contemporary take on comfort food classics, with a brunch and themed nights also part of scenery. Ramsay himself is even known to make an appearance on occasion, meeting the people, pushing the brand. It’s a never-ending cycle, but one which he’s currently embracing.

“The pressure on a chef today is crazy. Rents are more expensive, standards are higher, staff want to work less and earn more.Thankfully I’ve managed not to make myself sick of it all yet. It’s not about money for me, if it was I think I could have stopped quite comfortably about five years ago. For me it’s about achieving what I set out to achieve, and right now the mantra to get there is simple.To succeed I need dates; two dates for an event to train for every six months. Get fit, stay in shape, don’t **** it up.That’s what really keeps my plans aligned.”

The Bill 1 x english pea soup, curried lobster (us$19), 1 x tamarind spiced chicken wings, spring onion and coriander (us$ 13.60), 1 x braised feather blade beef, star anise, carrot purée and creamed wild mushrooms (us$39), 1 x organic lamb chops (us$53), 1 x hand-cut chips (us$5)

Total: us$129,60

download the emirates app – available for iPhone, iPad and android. your personal journey planner makes it easy to view and arrange your trips when you’re on the go. designed to complement the iPhone app, there’s also an emirates app for apple watch.

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S t a y :

C o n t e m p o r a r y

The London WesT hoLLyWood Los AngeLes, us

Words: GINA JoHNsoN ImAGes: THe LoNdoN WesT HoLLYWood In stark contrast to its city namesake, there is very little British sensibility to this hip hillside hotel in the perennially stylish neighborhood of West Hollywood.

Instead, expect poolside cabanas, swanky rooftop parties and casual, sun-kissed Californian style punctuated by a sharp crowd of A-listers and industry bigwigs.

Just steps from the Sunset Strip and strategically located at the top of San Vicente Boulevard, The London West Hollywood caters to a slightly cooler clientele than its Bel Air and Beverly Hills brothers, The London offers some of the biggest suites in the city; the rooms are airy and modern with some subtle retro design twists.

But it’s the customised 110-seat state of the art Screening Room, just off the hotel’s sparkling mosaic-tiled lobby, that has the city’s luvvies in a lather. It firmly positions The London West Hollywood as the biggest and the best for small premieres, industry-only screenings and VIP events. thelondonwesthollywood.com

Emirates serves 10 destinations in the USA – Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Orlando, Washington DC, New York and Boston.

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S t a y :

C l a S S i C

Metropolitan London, UK

Words: Mark Evans IMagEs: MEtropolItan While most central London addresses sit firmly in a box marked ‘exclusive’ these days, there nevertheless still remains a certain cachet for those in the W1 postcode: Mayfair.

Monopoly’s most expensive property is home to the Metropolitan, a hotel of suitably exclusive stature, sitting opposite Hyde Park, on Park Lane. Surprisingly modern and

minimalist for such traditional surroundings, the Metropolitan is clear product of its parent COMO brand; contemporary, slick, sophisticated. There’s a branch of Nobu, the Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant, whilst its Met Bar remains a haven for the West London after-work crowd.

Rooms are clutter free and minimal in style; clean whites and unfussy woods are

Emirates operates nine daily flights from Dubai to London.

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broken only by hints of pastel colours, and a recent refurbishment adds another layer of slick modernity.

Finally, should you require a little more candy for the eye, the views across the beautiful greens of Hyde Park and out towards Harrods and Brompton Oratory are glorious. comohotels.com

F O R

S H O P P I N G

L O V E R S

CA S T E L L A N A

S TO R E

S TO R E

M A D R I D / D I AG O N A L

DEPARTMENT STORES SPAIN & PORTUGAL

BA R C E LO N A

S t a y :

R o o m

CORDIS HONG KONG

Words: joe mortimer images: cordis Towering over Hong Kong’s traditional Mongkok neighbourhood, Cordis Hong Kong has emerged from a major overhaul looking radiant, with a new name, new look and an art collection worth US$4.5 million.

Formerly Langham Place, the hotel’s suites, finished in crisp shades of blue, grey and silver, have dramatic skyline views and lots of little extras, including a fully-loaded

smartphone with free international calls.

The 36th floor Club Lounge, fitted out with reclaimed oak floors and modern minimal furniture, looks out over the urban jungle, providing a welcome escape from the bustle of Mongkok’s neon-filled streets.

Mediterranean tapas and potent cocktails are served at Alibi, and chef Mango Tsang’s Ming Court vaunts a

Michelin star for its superb modern Cantonese cuisine. On the top floor, Chuan Spa has treatments based on traditional Chinese medicine and one of the highest pools in the city.

This is one for well-heeled travellers who value community spirit and authenticity as much as impeccable service. cordishotels.com

Emirates flies four times daily to Hong Kong. Choose from three non-stop services from Dubai, and one service with a stop in Bangkok, Thailand.

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N e i g h b o u r h o o d

West HollyWood, los Angeles WORDS: MaRina ChetneR iMageS: VinCent LOng

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N e i g h b o u r h o o d

W

est Hollywood, one of Los Angeles’ more creative neighbourhoods, enjoys a fabled past. John Wayne ran amok in his onetime home, Sunset Tower hotel (rumour has it that he kept a pet cow on the balcony); Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack dominated Dominick’s Restaurant; and The Doors were discovered on the Sunset Strip, a flashy stretch of Sunset Boulevard that doubles as West Hollywood’s nor thernmost border.

Bound, ever so cooly, on either side

by Hollywood and Beverly Hills, WeHo, as locals call it, is a coveted zip code among high-profile residents – Cher, Elton John, Cour tney Cox and Sandra Bullock have all lived in the famous Sierra Towers at one time or another.

Top fashion brands stand shoulder to shoulder on Melrose Avenue, not far from The Pacific Design Center, whose showrooms have been the go-to for interior decorators since 1975.

WeHo is where ar tists get noticed, celebrities set trends, and well-heeled denizens flock to see and be seen. It attracts the best in fashion, music, dining and wellness. Here’s our carefully curated guide to the neighbourhood... | 43 |

N e i g h b o u r h o o d

eAT + ShOP

INK RESTAURANT Ink keeps good company on Melrose Avenue with Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs, and Herve Leger. Step inside and the spotlight shifts to the food.

Owner Michael Voltaggio, winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 6, is known for fusing creativity with play, and his personal stamp is all over the small-plates menu. Tender octopus on a bed of ink pasta shells is elevated by paprika. The cauliflower chips served with crispy-skinned branzino are moreish. Deliciously aromatic charcoal potatoes sprinkled with salt and spritzed with black vinegar is a hardy side dish. As for desser t, order the white chocolate ganache hazelnut financier with macerated peaches, if they’re in season. For ‘Classic’ cocktails read ‘edgy’, yet the coconut rum daiquiri mixed with angostura bitters is unexpectedly good. You’ll want to linger – this polished, industrialesque spot draws a convivial crowd well into the night.

8360 Melrose Ave #107, Los Angeles, CA 90069 | 23-651-5866 | mvink.com

In The AreA ( o n e - M i n u t e Wa l k )

kelly Wearstler A beautiful collection of vintage pieces for the home, from a woman who styles A-list residences.

8440 Melrose Ave, West HollyWood, CA 90069, 323-895-7880, kellyWeArstler.CoM

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EXPERIENCE A UNIQUE

LIFESTYLE

Apartments starting from: AED 412,888

BOOK TODAY WITH AED 10,000

800 674 262(Within UAE) +971 4 366 1682 (International)

www.nshama.ae

N e i g h b o u r h o o d

reAD + PeOPLe-WATCh

In The AreA

BOOKMARC

( s i x - M i n u t e Wa l k )

At the intersection of Melrose Avenue and Melrose Place is a sweet, ivy-covered bookstore called Bookmarc. Named after quirky designer Marc Jacobs, its quaint interior is lined with shelves stacked with books so artfully arranged, they look like a gallery installation. Rows of colourful attention-grabbing covers bear portraits of Frida Kahlo, a Warholian Debbie Harry, Elvis Presley, Ingrid Bergman in monochrome, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Only then do the bold names of titles and authors come into focus: George Orwell; Dreaming in Cuban; Sylvia Plath; Lunch Poems; and Grace by Grace Coddington (American Vogue’s creative director’s memoir). Browsing the selection of coffee table books on music, photography, film, art and literature feels like a celebration of print. Actress Chloë Sevigny held her self-titled book’s signing here, as did Incubus’ Brandon Boyd – the line to autograph So The Echo extended down the block.

8409 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069 | 323-944-0575 | marcjacobs.com

uRtH CaFFe

The food is consistently good and as well as kale salads, you’ll find Reuben sandwiches and smoked salmon topped pizzas.

8565 MelRose Avenue, WesT HollyWood, CA 90069, 310-659-0628, uRTHCAffe.CoM

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Rush The Team Members of LUX* help people to celebrate life with the most simple, fresh and sensory hospitality in the world.

M AU R I T I U S R E U N I O N M A L D I V E S C H I N A U . A . E T U R K E Y | L U X R E S O R T S. C O M

N e i g h b o u r h o o d

in thE ArEA (four-minute cab ride)

SaLLY HerSHberGer Hair SaLon Celebrity clients such as Demi Moore abound, and Sally takes appointments every six weeks.

760 N La CieNega BLvD, WeSt HoLLyWooD, Ca 90069, 310-854-4922, SaLLyHerSHBerger.CoM

music + cELEBrity

TROUBADOUR In the decades since it opened in 1957, Troubadour has been a launching pad for ar tists’ careers: Joni Mitchell made her debut in 1968; two years later, Elton John was introduced to the US by Neil Diamond; and Franz Ferdinand played their first-ever LA show in 2004. Histor y was made when Led Zeppelin jammed here for almost three hours after playing at the LA Forum in 1970; it’s also where Jim Morrison made the live record, It’s Too Late To Stop Now, in 1973. The small venue – standing room only with some balcony seating, a bar, and a kitchen ser ving American fast food – can list a bunch of ‘best music venue’ accolades, yet it’s an embrace of the indie scene and the constant performances by legendar y ar tists like Rod Stewar t, Coldplay, Ringo Starr, Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails that asser t its place as a must-visit for live music shows.

9081 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069 | 310-276-1158 | troubadour.com

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N e i g h b o u r h o o d

rIde + reLAX

In The AreA

SOUL CYCLE

( t w o - M i n u t e wa l k )

Angelenos joke that yoga is offered on every corner, but the indoor-cycling trend has taken root all over town as well. Not long after New York-based Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice launched SoulCycle, their spin classes attracted a cult following. Celebrities such as David Beckham, Olivia Wilde, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga love it; the WeHo studio – which opened in 2012 – packs a crowd from dawn to dusk. The genius behind the 45-minute calorieburning sessions is that they’re held in a club-like setting, where the instructorcum-DJ motivates cyclists with light dimmers, uniquely choreographed routines, a killer playlist, and positive affirmations to push through highresistance peddling. Hand weights are incorporated to balance upper body fitness. This flagship studio is a great spot for a sweat, especially at 7am when the Sunset Strip is asleep. Afterwards, cool off in the outdoor cour tyard.

8570 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069 | 310-657-7685 | soul-cycle.com

ole HenRikSen FaCe/BoDY SPa

This jewel-box of a spa is a respite from the thrum of Hollywood.

SunSeT Plaza, 8622 SunSeT Blvd # a, loS angeleS, Ca 90069, 310-854-7700, oleHenrikSen.Com

Emirates flies daily from Dubai to Los Angeles with the A380. Starting July 1 a second daily A380 service will be added.

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L o c a L

K n o w L e d g e

mB&F m.a.d. gallery Robot clocks, over-sized spider timepieces, industrial otherworldly lights, and a life-sized steel shark named Poseidon.

An afternoon spent in this art gallery is one like no other in the city words & Images: sandra TInarI

t would be something of an understatement to describe the Swiss watch manufacturer MB&F as being cut from a different cloth to its peers.

In fact, just a glance through its collections shows creations so intricate that they would look more at home on the cover of a Jules Verne novel than in a Baselworld roundup. So what they did next should come as no real surprise.

Curated by founder and creative director Max Busser, MB&F M.A.D. Gallery combines mechanical and kinetic sculptures and devices, with a Tron sensibility, matched by ar tisanal craft and the science of technical engineering.

With spaces already in Geneva and Taipei, its latest instalment at Dubai’s Al Serkal Avenue, as Busser explains, is ready to shock and awe.

I

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The M.A.D. Gallery curates kinetic and mechanical art from ar tists all around the world. A first of its kind, it concentrates on innovation, crazy ideas, incredibly high craftsmanship and the stories of the creators, who are often as inspiring and engaging as the works they create.

L o c a L

K n o w L e d g e

every ArtiSt, CreAtor AnD DeSigner thAt we CurAte hAS mADe my heArt beAt fASter

I’ve always believed that mechanical creations could be art.

I wanted to be a car designer since the age of four and saw those 1950s to ’70s cars as works of ar t. They were created by strong-minded characters who did not care about what clients thought.

They were engineered with incredible ar tisanship, while spending insane amounts of money to make their creations beautiful... as much in shape as in detail.

Alserkal Avenue in Dubai embodies perfectly what we’re looking for, a platform that engages people to think differently. A gathering and a community of individuals (the exhibitors as much as the visitors) who are extremely diverse and at the same time are there to defend their idea of ar t, design or craftsmanship. In a world of über-marketed products, which to me all look the same, it’s so refreshing to be awed and amazed by individuals who are actually expressing themselves.

A convenient way to visit Dubai’s top attractions is with City Sightseeing’s hop-on, hop-off bus. Learn more at citysightseeing-dubai.com

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L o c a L

K n o w L e d g e

I curate our M.A.D. Galleries and I collect memories. Every ar tist, creator and designer who we curate has made my hear t beat faster. Most have given up what many would consider a ‘normal life’ for their ar t and creations. When I contemplate one of their pieces I think of them, of their hardships, their abnegation, and the smiles and laughs we shared. It makes me proud that by helping them, or buying their pieces, I allowed them to create the next one.

In Dubai you can expect some amazing things.

The curation will range from Chicara Nagata, whose insane ‘motorcycle’ machines and his personal story of tragedy and passion remain one of my most vivid encounters, to a Frank Buchwald, who crafts only 12 or 13 Machine Lights a year, each a mind-blowing work of art, which by the way also gives light. With M.A.D. we are like an orphanage welcoming the few artisan creators who believe beauty and craftsmanship still trump all else. madgallery.ch | 57 |

GOLD

ELECTRONICS

CONFECTIONERY

FRAGRANCE

COSMETICS

SKINCARE

In addition to the above shops there is a wide selection of restaurants, watches, jewelry, toys, souvenirs, accessories and fashion.

A collection of stories from around the world Breaking The Storm

What Lies Beneath

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WHAT LIES

BENEATH

WIth 5.25 trIllIon pIeces of plastIc currently cIrculatIng through the World’s oceans, cleanIng them has alWays been vIeWed as an unsolvable problem. thankfully, boyan slat dIdn’t see It that Way Words: andreW bIrbeck IllustratIons: ralph mancao

I

t happened on a family holiday. Boyan Slat was an 16-year-old high school student at the time, a diving enthusiast in Greece for the ocean. Heading into the water, however, what confronted him was “more plastic bags than fish”. It was a moment that would change his life.

The stark reality is that, today, nowhere on the planet remains unaffected by plastic pollution, and in just seven decades – an average lifespan – we’ve managed to infest the Earth with toxic plastic waste.

If that uncomfortable fact seems quite simple, then, according to Slat and his team at The Ocean Cleanup, so too is the solution.

A project billed as the Largest Cleanup In History has the unmistakable feel of necessity rather than aspiration. According to UNESCO, as far back as 2006 it was estimated that every square mile of ocean contained 46,000 pieces of floating plastic.

This debris kills more than a million seabirds and in excess of 100,000 marine mammals across the planet annually. Alongside the fatalities are countless horrific injuries and the effects of toxicity. Many of us will have seen the dreadful images – decaying seabirds, their digestive systems filled with plastic fragments, sea lions and dolphins trapped in

discarded nets, giant tur tles horribly deformed by plastic six-pack rings encasing their bodies. At present it’s believed that more than 100 species face extinction due to plastic pollution.

It makes for grim reading, but we need to face up to what we’ve done and continue to do. More than 220 million tons of plastic are produced each year.

Through lack of awareness, non-existent or defective re-cycling programmes and, most likely apathy, it’s estimated that more than eight million tons end up in the ocean every year. And plastic, exposed to saline and sunlight, rapidly fragments into tiny almost invisible particles known as micro-plastics. Along with larger pieces mistaken for food, these particles are then unwittingly ingested by sea creatures, thereby entering the food chain that we’re also part of. Put simply – plastic waste kills, maims and poisons. Humanity caused the problem. Now we need to fix it.

In times of crisis history has given us some unlikely heroes. After his experience | 63 |

An estimAted 7.25 million tons of extrActAble plAstic could be circulAting in the upper levels of the oceAnic gyres by 2020. thAt’s the weight of 1,000 eiffel towers

W h a t

the debris kills one million sea birds and in excess of 100,000 marine mammals across the planet on an annual basis

L i e s

B e n e a t h

in Greece, Boyan Slat returned to his hometown of Delft in the Netherlands to resume his studies, but he couldn’t shake what he’d seen. Then, shortly afterwards while out walking, he saw someone casually toss a plastic wrapper into a river. It’s the kind of thing that happens every day, something we tend to turn a blind eye to. Yet this was the trigger Slat needed, describing the moment as “an epiphany”. It just so happened too that around that time he was given a school assignment on the subject of choice. Like any worthwhile academic task, it got him thinking, and seemed to be the perfect opportunity to look into the subject of plastic waste. It struck Slat that people needed to be educated, but he also realised that prevention was just one side of the problem. As he went about his research he learned of ocean gyres, a series of gigantic swirling oceanic currents dotted around the planet and spread across millions of kilometers. These gyres, of which five are located in the subtropics, form part of what’s known as the oceanic conveyor belt that, put simply, moves water around the globe. | 64 |

Due to the convergence of ocean currents the gyres have become gathering points for vast quantities of the mind-boggling 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic currently circulating through the world’s oceans. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch – a phrase coined by Captain Charles Moore in 1997 on its discovery – is the most famous of these zones. It’s believed that the North Pacific Gyre alone has in excess of 100 million tons of plastic trapped within its currents. Back in 1997 it was estimated that it could take almost 80,000 years for that plastic alone to dissipate completely.

Upon realising that currents move through gyres Slat had a brainwave, “why move through the oceans if the oceans can move through you?” In other words, target the gyres for collection of the waste, after all that’s where ocean currents converge along with the waste they carry. All that was needed was a method of collection, the rest a case of “letting the ocean currents do their work”. It’s a deceptively simple concept. But of course a concept is one thing, practicality another.

Gyres are located in some of the most inhospitable places on earth, thousands of miles from shore. How would all this work and, more importantly, how would the world be convinced by a man of his young age?

They say necessity is the mother of invention. Slat took to the stage – a TEDx talk in his hometown of Delft. It was a leap of faith, yet his case was crystal clear. Not only had he identified the problem, along with strong scientific evidence and draft designs to go with it, he had the solution. All this followed a selffinanced return trip to Greece where he had tried out a home-designed manta-trawl – a net created to sample water. This trawl had a difference, however: it was 15 times finer than those normally used, and as such would capture tiny plastic fragments as well as larger more visible pieces. It worked, with one drawback; it also captured plankton. Slat and his friends discovered however that the plankton could safely be removed by using a centrifuge. Step one had been a success. A further test had followed, this time in the North Sea, using a specially designed multilevel trawl. It too had worked.

In order to solve a problem you have to know what you’re up against. Slat had made contact with academics and industry experts specialising in the area of plastic pollution. He’d learned that an estimated 7.25 million tons of extractable plastic would be circulating in the upper levels of the oceanic gyres by 2020. By anyone’s standards it’s a shocking statistic. Slat puts it in context by saying, “That’s the weight of 1,000 Eiffel Towers.”

Coincidentally, just a few months prior to his TEDx talk, there’d been a disastrous plastic pellet spill in Hong Kong caused by just five containers splitting open and resulting in a massive clean-up operation.

W h a t

Slat estimated that by using his prototype design of platforms moored to the seabed connected to a system of floating booms, the equivalent of 55 containers full of plastic pellets could be removed from the ocean per day. The plastic, once collected, could then be recycled. Not only was his proposed method of extraction revolutionary and efficient, it was also highly cost-effective. Calculations showed that it could, in effect, be self-financing. The system too would utilise solar, wind and wave energy. In short, it could power itself.

Clearly it was time to take things to the next level.

An in-depth feasibility report and trials on a bigger scale were needed. The project took over Slat’s life, so much so that he took a break from university where he was studying aerospace engineering. He set up the not-for-profit Ocean Cleanup Foundation but funds were non-existent. An estimated initial US$80,000 was needed but Slat had no access to finance. For a while it seemed The Ocean Cleanup was, quite literally, dead in the water. That is until March 26, 2013, when the story went viral. According to Slat all of a sudden he began “receiving more than 1,500 e-mails per day, and the phone never stopped ringing”. On the back of this a crowdfunding campaign was launched and the necessary finance flooded in. A team, which rapidly grew to around 100 people, was then assembled to work on the project.

As Slat says, “Suddenly I wasn’t alone anymore.”

The feasibility study proved successful and it was discovered too that most plastics are to be found in the top three metres of the ocean. Through a series of further tests, a floating barrier was designed that can withstand almost any adverse weather conditions.

L i e s

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how would it work when the finest minds had deemed it an unsolvable problem?

For more on wildlife and conservation, check out Wildlife TV channels 1240-1250 on ice Digital Widescreen.

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A prototype boom was then trialed in the Atlantic close to the Azores, the results of which backed up those previously confirmed by computer simulation. Extraction costs too are estimated to be a fraction of conventional methods. On top of this a new ‘stable, cost-effective and storm resistant’ platform has been designed incorporating a pump, centrifuge, conveyor system and 122 solar panels. A further $2,000,000 was raised in 2014 for a series of upscaling trials, all of which proved successful.

The next step is a Coastal Pilot scheduled for late 2016 in Tsushima Strait off the Japanese coast. Deployment of the full-scale system in the Pacific is planned for 2020. It’s now estimated by Slat that by “using a single 100km array almost half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch could be eradicated within just 10 years”.

On the face of it, it sounds too good to be true. A young man noticing a problem at its root and arriving at a solution that has, so far, proved out of reach to the finest scientific minds. However, his work certainly hasn’t been without criticism. “The project is just a fairy tale… the job is too big, it’s a fool’s errand… the equipment just won’t work,” are all accusations that have all been thrown at, but Slat has responded to each and every one of them in a 530-page feasibility study.

The reality is that The Ocean Cleanup appears to be the most positive, environmentally friendly and cost-effective method of ridding our oceans of plastic yet.

So much so that Slat has even been asked about his thoughts on cleaning debris in space next.

Unsurprisingly, he has a plan for that too; but one planet at a time. theoceancleanup.com #theoceancleanup

San Sebastiรกn lies at the heart of Basque country, a region with a well documented turbulent history. Could its status as a European Capital of Culture for 2016 shape a more positive future? Six locals explain...

WORDS: GARETH REES IMAGES: REBECCA REES On June 28, 2011, the Spanish city of San Sebastián (Donostia in Basque), a popular tourist destination located in Spain’s Basque Country, was one of two cities named European Capital Culture for 2016 – the other was Wrocław, Poland. Just four months later, on October 20, 2011, the Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, who had been devoted to a violent struggle for Basque independence since the 1950s, announced an end to all armed activities.

For the organisers of Donostia/ San Sebastián 2016 (DSS 2016), this historic moment inspired what Pablo Berástegui, CEO of DSS 2016, calls a “radical” approach.

“Instead of investing a lot of money in building new spaces for culture – the city already has many – we decided to do something different.

For us, it was very important that peace was the core theme.”

A lighthouse was chosen as the symbol to represent this goal. “The idea of the lighthouse is that its light guides you somewhere,” says Berástegui. “It’s not the goal, you don’t have to reach the lighthouse.

But through the activities we have planned, hopefully, we can learn to work differently; to work together.”

The organisers decided not to arrange the schedule for DSS 2016 using conventional categories such as ‘film’, ‘theatre’, ‘music’ and so on, but rather to fit the year’s activities into three conceptual groupings. Lighthouse Of Peace will promote coexistence, pacifism and respect; Lighthouse Of Life represents what Berástegui calls an “anthropological approach to culture” and will explore how we relate to ourselves, to others and to the natural environment; and Lighthouse Of Voices will use artistic mediums to cultivate mutual understanding.

Berástegui says that DSS 2016’s programme should be interesting to anyone with a desire to get to know the city of San Sebastián in a new context. But its aim is not simply to boost tourism. “It’s not about attracting more visitors,” he says. “It’s about the people who live here and what they are doing.”

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q u e s t i o n

o f

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JUDAS ARRIETA

artiSt

“Some artiStS have tried to create a BaSque art. i like thiS Stuff, But i’m not in thiS category… i am BaSque, But i feel i am a univerSal artiSt” Judas Arrieta was born and raised in Hondarribia, a small fishing town approximately 25km from San Sebastián. His work is collected by institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, and has been exhibited across Europe and Asia. He lived and worked in China from 2005 to 2013, where, in 2007, he founded MA Studio, the country’s first residency programme predominantly for Spanish artists.

Arrieta, whose work is inspired by both the Manga comics and kung-fu movies he loved when he was growing up, and traditional Asian painting, has an international outlook. “In the Basque Country after the Spanish Civil War we had problems with [Francisco] Franco, a struggle to keep our language, to keep our identity,” he says. “So some artists have tried to create a Basque art. I like this stuff, but I am not in this category, I do not feel this pressure. I am Basque, but I feel I am a universal artist.”

For DSS 2016, Arrieta was one of five artists asked to produce a mural for Speaking Walls, a Lighthouse of Peace project. The artist has created a mural using skateboard decks, produced by a company in Hondarribia and painted with a mountainous landscape, referencing Japanese and Chinese painting while simultaneously suggesting the mountains of the Basque Country. In deference to the neighbourhood’s history, the mural, which has been created on the wall of Casa Ciriza, a former fish processing warehouse in Pasaia, incorporates an old work of graffiti art depicting a mermaid.

Arrieta is glad his mural will bring people to the town on the outskirts of San Sebastián, which he feels is really in need of regeneration. While he’s uncertain what DSS 2016’s legacy will be, he hopes it will help Basque society appreciate artists a whole lot more. “In our society artists are vagabonds, outsiders,” he says. “We still don’t have a society that understands what artists do. Maybe this year will help.”

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ANDONI MUNDUATE DORRONSORO entrepreneur

“We cannot ignore it or change the past, but We can and should talk about it and Work hard to ensure it can’t happen again”

Andoni Munduate Dorronsoro describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur” but says that he is known best for his gastronomic projects. Born in the tiny village of Ataun in the south of Gipuzkoa, the province of which San Sebastián is the capital, he left the Basque Country at 18, living in Madrid for three years and then London for a decade, before returning to the Basque Country. He now lives in Gros, which he describes as the “hipster, cool, surfer neighbourhood of Donostia”.

His first involvement with the organisers of DSS 2016 was way back in 2010, when La Saisera (The Gravy Boat), a company he founded with a couple of friends, collaborated to launch Musika Parkean (Music in the Park), a series of music festivals aimed at utilising San Sebastián’s previously ignored public parks; there are now six concerts every month between April and September every year.

For DSS 2016, Dorronsoro’s new company, Platypus Labs, has organised On Appétit, a Lighthouse of Life initiative that will see 10 European chefs hosted for a week by Basque chefs. “The project is an exchange of gastronomic culture between the Basque region and other European regions,” says Dorronsoro. “As a result, On Appétit will enable a series of recipes to be developed that will merge local and foreign ingredients, techniques and recipes. We would like the region to evolve to a more diverse, multicultural gastronomic culture.”

Dorronsoro has high hopes for DSS 2016. “The political violence made [people living in] this society narrow-minded and fearful of being seen as different. The most important thing DSS 2016 is doing is simply acknowledging that this is part of our culture. We cannot ignore it or change the past, but we can and should talk about it and work hard to ensure it can’t happen again. As a consequence of this, I think Donostiarras, the people of San Sebastián, will be more tolerant of difference and therefore more culturally rich.”

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TXEMA GARAY presIdent of club vasco de caMpIng

“We Want the Whole country to be part of the event. It‘s an opportunIty for us to shoW everybody the rIchness of our geography and culture”

Fifty-four-year-old Txema Garay has been a member of Club Vasco de Camping, a mountaineering and skiing society, since he was 15. “The contact with nature motivates me, feeling how vulnerable we as human beings are, how insignificant we are in comparison to the magnificence of nature,” he says. “It’s also the feeling of freedom and other sensations like the fatigue in my legs, the cold wind in my face, the rain, the heat, the snow – it’s magical, challenging both body and soul.”

Now President of the club, Garay is responsible for organising 2016 Bidea, a Lighthouse of Life project with the tagline “culture is made by walking”. A celebration of trekking, which Garay explains has been an important activity in Basque society for more than a century, this continuous 600km trek across the Basque Country will take place between March 27 and October 30. The trek, which will incorporate other cultural activities such theatre productions, musical performances and museum visits, will be split into 32 separate stages of varying degrees of difficulty, with the baton being passed on from one group of hikers to the next each Sunday.

“The aim of the cultural walks is to pass the baton representing the European Capital of Culture through the Basque Country,” says Garay. “We want the whole country to be part of the event. It is an opportunity for us to show everybody the richness of our geography and culture.”

And the legacy of DSS 2016? “Learning to live together, to be more tolerant – and that is a very valuable legacy,” says Garay.

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FERNANDO BERNUÉS film and tHeatre director

“Hopefully tHis event will Help stimulate people’s curiosity, inspiring tHem to be more open minded and also aware of otHer people’s realities”

Fernando Bernués has worked in both film and theatre. He has directed feature films, including Kutidazu bidea, Ixabel (2006) and Mugaldekoak (2010), as well as numerous successful theatre productions.

Bernués was responsible for cultural management of DSS 2016 for a year during the build-up to the event, and has directed a production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Lighthouse of Voices. The play opens on June 21, the start of the summer solstice, and will run until July 24, with each performance taking place in front of an audience of 300 people, who will be invited to participate in the drama, playing the part of guests at Hermia and Demetrius’s wedding, a key scene in the play.

The setting for the play will be Cristina Enea Park, which Bernués describes as a place of “extraordinary beauty”. “It is a public space that should be appreciated more from a cultural point of view and utilised more by the people of Donostia who, despite living close by, haven’t got to know it.”

Bernués has been working in Madrid and Barcelona for the last five months, but says that he chooses to live in San Sebastián because it is a city he understands. “It has a stimulating beauty – it gives you balance, pleasure and sensuality.

Its relatively small size encourages intellectual and artistic engagement. Sometimes it is less cosmopolitan than other cities, but it has a substantial cultural offering.”

He hopes that DSS 2016 will stimulate people’s curiosity, inspiring them to be more open minded and aware of other people’s realities. “The debate that is going to be started will make us rethink and go into great depth on a range of important topics.”

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The 9th Emirates Photography Competition Exhibition

Manarat Al Saadiyat Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi March 28 - July 13, 2016 Free entry

emiratesphotocompetition.ae

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OLATZ PRAT

COORDINATOR OF THE FORUM THEATRE PROJECT

“WE All HAvE A REsPONsIbIlITy AND A CAPACITy WHEN IT COMEs TO PEACE bUIlDINg, IT’s NOT ONly THE POlITICIANs’ TAsk”

Olatz Prat lives in the town of Azpeitia in the province of Gipuzkoa, 40km from San Sebastian, where she was born. A former journalist, she currently works for the Baketik Foundation, where she is responsible for coordinating the Forum Theatre project for DSS 2016.

Forum Theatre is based on Brazilian director Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, which Prat explains “advocates theatre as a tool to address the feelings, contradictions and archetypes provoked by violence and social unrest.” During regular two-hour sessions throughout 2016 audiences will watch a six-act play entitled What About You? which deals with the recent social and political troubles faced by Basque society by focusing on everyday scenarios. The play is interactive, with audience participation encouraged. “The idea is the empower people to change those things that don’t work in their lives, so they feel capable of resolving and overcoming both personal and social problems,” says Prat.

Forum Theatre, a Lighthouse of Peace project that is open to anybody who wants to participate, will focus on personal relationships and promote tolerance, respect, empathy and communication. “We all have a responsibility and a capacity when it comes to peace building, it’s not only the politicians’ task” says Prat. “This project aims to give people the tools they require to build peace – to create a multiplier effect, spreading the seeds of social harmony, while remembering that each individual must take care of their own garden.”

Prat says San Sebastian has changed for the better in the last decade, but she worries about the city transforming into a showcase for tourists at the expense of local culture, losing its unique Basque identity. “I hope DSS 2016 uses this opportunity to present local and regional [Basque] culture, showing the whole world that there is a small country in the corner of Europe that is proud of being unique, and that one of the oldest cultures on the continent is still alive.”

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KOLDO ALMANDOZ filmmaker

“The risk is of confusing Tourism and culTure, as our poliTicians do all The Time. The risk is becoming barcelona – a decoraTive ciTy for TourisTs” A filmmaker and co-founder and editor of San Sebastián art and culture magazine The Balde (thebalde.net), Koldo Almandoz recently presented his film Sîpo Phantasma (Ghost Ship) at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

He was chosen by the organisers of DSS 2016 to contribute to Kalebegiak, a feature-length film comprised of shorter works by 12 filmmakers. Kalebegiak is a Lighthouse of Voices project. Almandoz is also artistic director of Speaking Walls.

Narciso, the short film Almandoz has produced for Kalebegiak, is the story of a citizen of San Sebastián – the Narciso of the title – who travels back in time from 2066 to visit the city in 2016. The story is based on that of the mythological figure Narcissus and is a comment on the high regard in which Almandoz believes San Sebastián holds itself. “It is a city in love with itself,” he says. “The whole project [DSS 2016], Kalebegiak included, is pretty narcissistic.”

The setting for Narciso is Paseo Nuevo, a promenade wrapped around Mount Urgull, a prominent tree covered hill in the centre of San Sebastián. “I love that part of San Sebastián, where the city meets the sea,” says Almandoz. “It’s a place where the city finds its limit but you can escape anywhere.”

Almandoz, who was born in San Sebastián, says he has to travel a lot for work but the city is the perfect place to come back to. “Even though it’s quite conservative in many respects, there’s a rich cultural life and you can live next to nature,” he adds. “There is a big [cultural] offering. The risk is saturation on one hand and on the other falling into the trap of confusing tourism and culture, as our politicians do all the time. The risk is becoming Barcelona – a decorative city for tourists.”

Emirates serves two destinations in Spain – Madrid and Barcelona, with two non-stop daily services to both cities. There’s also a daily A380 service to each city, and starting June 1 both flights to Barcelona will be operated by the flagship double-decker aircraft.

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Essential news and information from Emirates New routes to Southeast Asia

Inside Emirates

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NEW ROUTES TO VIETNAM AND MYANMAR

Q&A

MICHAEL YOUNG Senior Vice-President, Corporate Sponsorships, LA Dodgers

Vietnam and Myanmar are set to receive a connectivity boost with Emirates launching a daily service from Dubai to Hanoi and Yangon.

Yangon is Myanmar’s commercial capital and largest city, while Vietnamese capital Hanoi has a population of seven million and is renowned for being a cultural hub.

“With the opening of this service, Emirates will enhance its Southeast Asia offering and offer more choices for travellers in Myanmar and Vietnam to conveniently connect to 39 cities in Europe, 16 in the Middle East, as well as a number of destinations across our extensive network,”

said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, Revenue Optimisation and Aeropolitical Affairs.

Commencing August 3 and using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, flights will depart daily from Dubai as EK 388 at 2.50am arriving at Yangon International Airport at 11.05am. The service will then depart from Yangon at 12.35pm and arrive at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport at 2.50pm.

The return flight, EK 389 will depart Hanoi at 10.50pm, arriving at Yangon at 0.20am the next day. The service will then depart from Yangon at 1.50am and arrive at Dubai International Airport at 5.05am.

PITCHING IN WITH THE LA DODGERS

Emirates’ international footprint as a supporter of sports and culture has grown considerably, as it has announced it will be the Official Airline Sponsor of the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking the airline’s entry into the world of baseball.

As a spor t with deep roots in American culture, baseball always seemed a perfect fit for the Emirates blueprint. “This is a spor t that unifies many communities across the US,” said Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline. “The spirit of competition and fair play, the continuous drive to excel, and ability to foster a shared passion and connection with its fans – these are all values we share at Emirates.”

This new par tnership continues Emirates’ momentum in the realm of spor t, with the airline having made its mark as a sponsor of some of the world’s premier football teams including AC Milan, Real Madrid, Arsenal FC, Olympiacos FC, Hamburger SV, and Paris Saint-Germain. | 84 |

Why was Emirates such an attractive proposition?

The Dodgers have a history of recruiting the best players, personnel, and partners throughout the world.

Along those lines, the organisation was interested in partnering with the greatest airline in the world.

How can the sponsorship help the Dodgers?

Emirates is a world leader in partnerships in sport and culture.

It joins other Dodgers international partners which will hopefully help give notice to other global companies regarding the significant global reach of the Dodger brand.

And how can the Dodgers brand help Emirates?

We have an incredibly large and loyal fanbase throughout the US, into Latin America, Asia and beyond. We will work to introduce Emirates to millions of Americans who, at this point, are still relatively new to everything that this world class airline and the amazing city of Dubai has to offer.

Tell us your greatest baseball memory My first professional baseball game, in person. It was the 1974 World Series game between the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Dodgers. I’ll never forget walking in and seeing the perfectly manicured field and the palm trees in the outfield. The only problem was that I was an Oakland Athletics fan – and the Dodgers won.

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TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

A new Business Class seat was revealed at the world’s leading trade travel show, ITB Berlin, in March.

The newly enhanced seat has been designed with total customer comfor t in mind, with an ergonomically designed headrest, a pitch of 72 inches and the latest touchscreen controller allowing the seat to be electrically conver ted into a fully flat sleeping position at

180 degrees. The improved layout also comprises one of the industr y’s largest personal TV screens at 23 inches allowing customers to enjoy Emirates‘ award-winning ice inflight enter tainment and additional amenities like a conveniently located mini-bar.

The new seat will be installed in all Emirates’ new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft delivered from November 2016 onwards.

NEw ARRIvAL LOUNGE OpENS IN MILAN

Milan Malpensa airport in Italy now boasts a brand new dedicated Arrivals Lounge for First Class and Business Class passengers as well as Gold and Platinum members of Skywards the frequent flyer programme.

Offering a fresh and contemporary design, as well as seating for 17 customers,

MORE A380 ROUTES ROLLED OUT

it makes it a perfect option for the chauffeur drive service, one of the most appreciated features for Emirates Premium Passengers.

The Arrivals Lounge facilities and amenities include comfor table leather chairs, a buffet coffee area and bespoke artwork, Emirates Premium passengers in the airpor t can also enjoy the main Emirates Lounge, located in the third satellite.

Emirates currently operates 56 flights per week to Italy, including three daily flights between Dubai and Milan Malpensa airpor t. | 86 |

Emirates is deploying the highlypopular aircraft to even more destinations in 2016.

Birmingham, Prague, Taipei and Vienna have all been added to the growing list of A380 destinations – making Emirates the first and only airline to operate a scheduled A380 ser vice from each of these destinations.

The daily Birmingham flight, EK 39/40, has already been up-gauged and daily A380 ser vices to Prague and Taiwan commence on May 1.

Meanwhile, Barcelona will boast a second daily Emirates A380 ser vice from June 1, while Vienna star ts a daily A380 ser vice on July 1.

Since Emirates launched its first A380 flight in 2008, the aircraft has flown more than 42 million passengers, covering more than 630 million kilometres.

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GOOD SPORTS When Emirates cabin crew performed a fun safety announcement at Benfica’s Estádio da Luz, it showed how sports sponsorship can not only be great fun, but also win the hearts of a global audience Words: matt mostyn

It began innocuously enough, back in 1896, when Kodak helped to fund the official results book of the first modern Olympic Games in exchange for a page of advertising space. Since those humble beginnings, the world of sports sponsorship has exploded, becoming an increasingly powerful tool in the marketing arsenal of corporate giants, who quickly realised its potential for boosting brand exposure and recognition.

Today, many of the world’s most successful companies, in every industry and from every corner of the globe, spend large amounts of money to connect their brand with sporting events, teams and famous athletes, all in an effort to build awareness and connect with people… and Emirates is no exception.

But why does sports sponsorship take pride of place in Emirates sponsorship repertoire? As Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand, Boutros Boutros explains, “We do also sponsor various orchestras, film festivals and exhibitions – but this mainly gives us awareness in smaller, more ‘niche’ circles. Sports sponsorship on the other hand

has mass worldwide appeal… and because sport is highly effective at capturing peoples’ emotions, we can engage with them much more successfully, due to that heightened emotional state.”

As any good marketer will tell you, sport is a universal language – so sponsors like Emirates work hard to ensure that a little sporting ‘stardust’ rubs off on them. While greater awareness doesn’t necessarily mean people are going to buy a ticket to fly with Emirates, the association with sporting legends like Arsenal football club means much greater familiarity with the name, and that puts the airline in pole position to win their loyalty.

When it comes to effective sports sponsorship, the best brands develop a compelling narrative around their involvement, while exploring new opportunities for connectivity. And so Emirates continues to put sponsorship at the heart of its marketing strategy, recently joining forces with the likes of baseball team the LA Dodgers and the Association of Tennis Professional (ATP).

The LA Dodgers deal marks the airline’s entry into the world of baseball, a sport with deep roots in America’s history and culture.

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As the Official Airline Partner, Emirates will have signage behind the home plate – called the backstop – and foul pole signage.

They’ll also open a new Emirates Lounge, a 70-person hospitality space, and other digital and social media benefits throughout the year. Along with in-game activations, ceremonial first pitches and fan appreciation activities, it’s set to be an interesting new partnership. As Boutros Boutros says: “The Dodgers are a great fit for us. We want to drive greater awareness of our brand in the US, and we want to educate, inspire and capture the hearts and minds of our audience. It’s a real challenge to do that on a national level – but a lot easier with local sponsorships such as the Dodgers deal and with baseball being such a popular and prolific game, and with the Dodgers being such an iconic brand, it’s a deal that really ticks all the boxes.”

Emirates has also signed the biggest deal in ATP history, becoming their Premier Partner ahead of the 2016 ATP World Tour. Featuring net branding across 60 tournaments in 29 countries in six continents, and a global broadcast audience of more than 800 million, the partnership also provides a platform for fans and guests to experience unrivalled onsite hospitality, as well as extensive activation through the Tour’s official website ATPWorldTour.com, the No.1 tennis portal in the world.

“Emirates is pleased to enhance its partnership with the ATP World Tour, and the global reach affords us the opportunity to connect and engage with millions of tennis fans around the globe.

With our direct flights to nearly 90 per cent of the 32 countries visited by the ATP World Tour, this is a particularly relevant partnership for our customers. Tennis truly is an international sport and it’s our own appreciation of this sport that has been

the catalyst behind our growing tennis sponsorship portfolio,” said Boutros of the deal.

Yet it’s not just tennis and baseball that Emirates has its sights firmly set on. Football (or soccer) is a high profile sponsorship success – evident from its deals with some of the best-known clubs in the world, including AC Milan, Paris St Germain, and Arsenal. Central to the company’s soccer strategy is the shirt sponsorship deals with giants like Real Madrid, AC Milan, Arsenal, Paris St-Germain and Olympiakos. Emirates favours shirt deals because of the strong human link they forge. “Fans see a person wearing your logo on that uniform, and that’s much more powerful than just seeing a name on a sign at the stadium,” says Boutros.

That insight is backed by the story of Emirates’ launch in Brazil a number of years ago. Conducting market research to discover the level of brand awareness in the country, Emirates was surprised to find that they were already the number one international airline in terms of brand awareness, even though they’d never flown a single plane there. The answer lay in the popularity of a Brazilian football player called Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, commonly known as Kaká. He’d spent years at AC Milan, one of the European club giants to have the Fly Emirates logo on its uniforms. “All the brand awareness we needed had been done by Kaká,” Boutros says.

“The AC Milan shirt, which was part of our European sponsorship portfolio, was also working for us in Brazil.”

Yet it’s not only shir t deals that have worked so well for Emirates. The par tnerships with clubs such as Benfica and Hamburg have been a par ticular success, with the release of two videos that have gone beyond viral. In the two-minute Benfica film, Emirates cabin crew welcome 65,000 football fans

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‘onboard’ with a spoof of a pre-flight safety demonstration performed on-pitch at Estádio da Luz, just minutes before the start of the game. It’s proved to be Emirates’ most watched

video of all time, with over 25 million views – and it’s a great example of how effectively a sponsorship par tner can connect to fans through their passion for spor t.

Emirates worked closely with a creative agency and came up with the safety video concept only a few days before the actual events. The airline decided not to tell the cabin crew what was going on until they arrived on the day, so there was no time to be nervous. For the Benfica video, the crew were briefed in the morning, practiced on the pitch a few times, and then sent out in front of 65,000 fans! Yet it nearly didn’t happen. Rain had plagued the stadium non-stop for two solid days, and Emirates was ready to cancel the whole thing – when suddenly the skies cleared, and the rain stopped just five minutes before the crew were meant to go on. And as soon as they came off the pitch, back came the rain!

Since the release of the videos, they’ve been extremely well received by fans around the world – and the cabin crew was equally thrilled to be a part of something so unique.

Boutros Boutros explains his view on why these two videos in particular captured the public attention, “It was important for us to show a human face to the brand, and the crowd’s genuine reaction certainly showed that. The activity also highlighted our commitment to both football clubs and helped raise brand awareness around the world.”

As Emirates continues to evolve its global route network, its sports sponsorship portfolio will develop to keep pace, raising awareness of new flight routes, and driving greater brand recognition amongst millions of passionate fans. And with the forging of recent new relationships with brands such as the ATP and the LA Dodgers, sports sponsorship will continue to be an important pillar of the airline’s branding strategy, both in 2016 and beyond.

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D e s t i n a t i o n

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D E S T I N A T I O N

YINCHUAN & ZHENGZHOU Starting May 3, Emirates will begin a four-times weekly service to Yinchuan and Zhengzhou. Enjoy our guide to two of China’s fastest growing cities Yinchuan is the capital of Ningxia, which lies to the West of the Yellow River and to the East of the mystical Hèlán mountains.

Serving as a gateway for economic and trade cooperation, and cultural exchange between China and the Middle East, it boasts numerous cultural gems as well as a host of new and exciting industries.

As the second largest city in central China, Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan Province and one of the eight ancient capitals of China. A major transportation link for the country, it has quickly

become a regional powerhouse of investment and opportunity.

While the main purpose for visiting might well be business, there are plenty of great restaurants and sites to explore while you’re there. The Heron and Ostrich Park is unique, while the Shaolin Temple is an absolute must-see.

Aside from a cultural fix, both cities also provide opportunities to sample the many delights of China’s diverse culinary offerings.

Forget MSG-laden western efforts and indulge in authentic dishes with subtle spicing and only the freshest ingredients.

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YINGBIN RESTAURANT This superb halal restaurant in Yinchuan is renowned for its tender mutton hot pot, but there are plenty of other delights to sample. Try the roasted duck or chicken gizzards and in the heat of summer, the fabulous range of ice cream is worth queuing for alone. +86 951 602 5950

JINJIANG INN With a great location in Yinchuan and a small bill at the end of your stay, Jinjiang Inn is a fantastic budget option. Wi-Fi is available in the lobby and there is also a computer for guests to use. Have a map of the hotel ready if you can’t speak Chinese. +86 951 602 9966

VISIT THE WESTERN XIA TOMBS These ancient tombs in Yinchuan are currently on track to be named a UNESCO World Heritage site. A museum highlights Buddhist ar t and ar tefacts, shedding light on a little known period of Chinese history. +86 951 601 1155

KEMPINSKI HOTEL YINCHUAN If you’re after a five-star experience in Yinchuan there is only one choice and that’s the Kempinski. The lack of competition in the sector hasn’t impacted the offering, which is world class, including quite possibly the best breakfast in town. kempinski.com

EXPLORE THE HÈLÁN MOUNTAINS These Yinchuan mountains have defined the history of the region, providing a barrier against invaders and the brutal Gobi winds. They are now also the base of China’s expanding wine industry, with companies setting up to make the most of the conditions.

HUA YÜ CHUAN The western-style décor doesn’t reflect the impeccable Chuanstyle cooking that takes place in the kitchen. Booking is essential at this Zhengzhou restaurant as dishes like maoxue wang and stewed Taian fish fly off the menu on a daily basis. +86 371 6622 2356 HAIDI LAO The service is on the money at this incredibly popular hot pot restaurant. Once again mutton is a staple, but other dishes at this Zhengzhou restaurant worthy of note include the Chaozhou-style beef ball and xia hua, a flavour-packed minced shrimp offering. +86 371 6932 3013

JW MARRIOTT HOTEL ZHENGZHOU Set in the Zhengdong New District CBD between the Convention and Exhibition centre and Henan Art facility, this luxury hotel is perfect for business and pleasure. As it’s a new hotel everything is still pristine and a nearby lake is perfect for runs or evening strolls. marriott.com

DELVE INTO HISTORY AT HENAN MUSEUM As one of the oldest museums in the country, Zhengzhou’s Henan boasts more than 130,000 relics. The facilities have continually been modernised and specialised displays take place alongside the long-term exhibitions. +86 371 6351 1237

Emirates flights to Yinchuan and Zhengzhou will depart on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

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EMIRATES STAFF TIPS Mark Zhang Supervisor Airport Services

VISIT THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE Built in 495 AD by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty this Zhengzhou landmark offers the unique combination of Shaolin Kungfu and Chan Buddhism.

GO ON A HISTORY TOUR If you’re in Yinchuan, go sightseeing at the Bell and Drum Tower built in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Jade Emperor Pavilion, South Gate Tower and the Sea Pagoda Temple are also must-sees.

C O M F O R T

WELLNESS IN THE AIR To help you arrive at your destination feeling relaxed and refreshed, Emirates has developed this collection of helpful travel tips.

Regardless of whether you need to rejuvenate for your holiday or be effective at achieving your goals on a business trip, these simple tips will help you enjoy your journey and time on board with Emirates today.

SMART TRAVELLER

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER Rehydrate with water or juices frequently. Drink tea and coffee in moderation.

TRAVEL LIGHTLY

WEAR GLASSES

Carry only the essential items that you will need during your flight.

Cabin air is drier than normal, therefore swap your contact lenses for glasses.

BEFORE YOUR JOURNEY Consult your doctor before travelling if you have any medical concerns about making a long journey, or if you suffer from a respiratory or cardiovascular condition.

Plan for the destination – will you need any vaccinations or special medications?

Get a good night’s rest before the flight.

Eat lightly and sensibly.

AT THE AIRPORT

USE SKIN MOISTURISER Apply a good quality moisturiser to ensure your skin doesn’t dry out.

KEEP MOVING Exercise your lower legs and calf muscles.

This encourages blood flow.

DURING THE FLIGHT

Allow yourself plenty of time for check-in.

Avoid carrying heavy bags through the airport and onto the flight as this can place the body under considerable stress.

Once through to departures try and relax as much as possible.

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Chewing and swallowing will help equalise your ear pressure during ascent and descent.

Babies and young passengers may suffer more acutely with popping ears, therefore consider providing a dummy.

Get as comfortable as possible when resting and turn frequently.

Avoid sleeping for long periods in the same position.

MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE Loosen clothing, remove jacket and avoid anything pressing against your body.

WHEN YOU ARRIVE Try some light exercise, or read if you can’t sleep after arrival.

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We are the leading company in vehicle's conversion. Possibilities are limitless : ambulance, service pick-up, hearse, mining vehicle, anti-riot vehicle,...

AUTOREDO, PREMIUM EQUIPMENT & AUTOMOTIVE SOLUTION PROVIDER

PREMIUM EQUIPMENT & AUTOMOTIVE SOLUTION PROVIDER

AUTOREDO FZE | +971 4 808 27 00 | Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai (UAE) | www.autoredo.ae | emirates@autoredo.com

V i s a s ,

q u i c k

c o n n e c t

Guide to us customs & immiGration Whether you’re travelling to, or through, the United States today, this simple guide to completing the US customs form will help to ensure that your journey is as hassle free as possible.

CUSToMS DECLARATIoN FoRM All passengers arriving into the US need to complete a Customs Declaration Form. If you are travelling as a family this should be completed by one member only. The form must be completed in English, in capital letters, and must be signed where indicated.

ElEctronic SyStEm for travEl authoriSation (ESta) If you are an international traveller wishing to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Programme, You must apply for electronic authorisation (ESTA) up to 72 hours prior to your departure.

ESta factS: Children and infants require an individual ESTA. The online ESTA system will inform you whether your application has been authorised, not authorised or if authorisation is pending.

A successful ESTA application is valid for two years, however this may be revoked or will expire along with your passport. apply onlinE at www.cbp.gov/ESta nationalitiES EligiblE for thE viSa waivEr*: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom** * SubjEct to changE ** only britiSh citizEnS qualify undEr thE viSa waivEr programmE. | 96 |

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q u a r a n t i n e

i n f o r m a t i o n

Cut the queue at JFK with quiCK ConneCt If you’re connecting through New York JFK, you can avoid long waiting times in US immigration and queues for connecting flights with the Quick Connect service. US Customs and Border Protection Agency created the special service for passengers who have a connecting flight within three hours of arrival at New York JFK.

Follow theSe StePS:

1

2

3

4

have your boarding card or ticket for your connecting flight ready for the ground staff as you exit.

You’ll be given a Quick Connect card. Continue to the Quick Connect queue in the Arrivals hall.

After passport clearance, claim your baggage and clear US customs, regardless of your final destination.

If your bag is tagged to your final destination, hand it to emirates staff at the transfer counter for your onward flight.

quarantine in australia Australia has strict biosecurity laws, so when you arrive you’ll need to declare certain food, plant or animal items on your Incoming Passenger Card.

You also need to declare equipment or shoes used in rivers and lakes or with soil attached. All aircraft food must be left on board. Please take particular care when you complete your Incoming Passenger Card – it's a legal document and false declarations may result in a penalty.

quarantine in Japan Japan has strict rules around exposure to livestock and bringing in livestock items.

You will need to go to the Animal Quarantine Counter if: • you have recently been to a livestock farm • are bringing livestock products into Japan • your visit to Japan will involve contact with livestock the counter is in the baggage claim area. If you’re bringing meat and livestock products into Japan without an import certificate, you must see the animal quarantine officer. | 97 |

U A E

S M A R T

G A T E

BE SMART! USE UAE SMART GATE AT DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

NATIONALITIES THAT CAN USE UAE SMART GATES

UAE

Andorra

Australia

Austria

Bahrain

Belgium

Brunei

Canada

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Kuwait

Liechtenstein

Luxembourg

Malaysia

Monaco

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Oman

Portugal

Qatar

San Marino

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

South Korea

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

*UK

USA

GO THROUGH IMMIGRATION IN SECONDS AND GET YOUR VISIT TO DUBAI OFF TO A FLYING START Citizens of the countries listed on the right and UAE residents can speed through Dubai International airport by using UAE Smart Gate.

If you hold a machine-readable passport or E-Gate card you can check in and out of the airport within seconds.

Just look out for signs that will direct you to the many UAE Smart Gates found on either side of the Immigration Hall at Dubai International airport.

USING UAE SMART GATE IS EASY

1

Have your E-Gate card or machinereadable passport ready to be scanned

2

Place your passport photo page on the scanner. If you are a UAE resident, place your E-Gate card into the E-Gate slot

OK!

3

Go through the open gate, stand in the blue footprint guide on the floor, face the camera straight-on and stand still for your iris scan.

When finished, the next set of gates will open and you can continue to baggage claim

*UK citizens only (UK overseas citizens still require a visa)

REGISTERING FOR UAE SMART GATE IS EASY To register, just follow the above process and then spend a few moments having your details validated by an immigration officer. That’s it! Every time you fly to Dubai in future, you will be out of the airport and on your way just minutes after you landed. | 98 |

UAE SMART GATE CAN BE USED BY:

• Machine-readable passports from the above countries • E-Gate cards

YOUR CONCRETE PRODUCT REQUIREMENT OUR PRODUCTION SYSTEM SOLUTION

ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGICALLY EQUIPPED FULLY AUTOMATIC PRODUCTION LINES FOR YOUR COMPLETE RANGE OF CONCRETE PRODUCTS

AIR PURIFYING BLOCKS UV pollutant

(E.G.Nox)

clean air

TIO2

ILLUMINATED TECHNOLOGY

AIR PURIFYING TECHNOLOGY

Fujian Excellence Honcha Environmental Intelligence Equipment Co. Ltd

Head Office: 3-16B, Quanzhou Economic & Technological Development Zone, Quanzhou, Fujian 362005, China Factory: Xuefen, Huaqiao Economic Development Zone, Nan’an Fujian, 362300, China Tel. No: (86-595) 2249 6062 , 2249 6066, 2249 6070 | Fax. No: (86-595) 2249 6061 Web: en.honcha.com | E-mail: marketing@hcm.cn , enquiry@honcha.com

R O U T E

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M A P

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M A P

NEW ROUTES: Yinchuan and Zhengzhou: four times weekly service starts May 3 Yangon and Hanoi: daily service starts August 3

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THE FLEET Our fleet contains 254 aircraft made up of 239 passenger aircraft and 15 cargo aircraft BOEING 777-300ER

Emirates is the world’s largest operator of this aircraft, which joined the fleet in 2005.

Number of Aircraft: 116 Capacity: 354-442 Range: 14,594km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 64.8m

BOEING 777-300

Since 1999, Emirates operates two and three-class versions of the 777-300.

Number of Aircraft: 12 Capacity: 364 Range: 11,029km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 60.9m

BOEING 777-200LR

Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 266 Range: 17,446km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m

BOEING 777-200ER

In 2005, the Boeing 777-200LR set a new world record for distance travelled non-stop when it landed at Heathrow airport, London, after a journey of 21,601km (11,664 nautical miles) from Hong Kong - the long way round. Emirates received its first 777-200LR in August 2007.

Emirates’ first Boeing 777-200ER joined the fleet in 1997.

Number of Aircraft: 6 Capacity: 274 Range: 14,310km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 60.9m

BOEING 777F

Number of Aircraft: 13 Range: 9,260km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m For more information: emirates.com/ourfleet | 104 |

The most environmentally-friendly freighter operated today, with the lowest fuel burn of any comparablysized cargo aircraft. Along with its wide main-deck cargo door which can accommodate oversized consignments, it is also capable of carrying up to 103 tonnes of cargo non-stop on 10-hour sector lengths.

AIRBUS A380-800

Emirates has operated the A380 since 2008, and is the world’s largest operator of this aircraft.

Number of Aircraft: 77 Capacity: 489-615 Range: 15,000km Length: 72.7m Wingspan: 79.8m

AIRBUS A340-500

This ultra-long range passenger airliner was introduced to the Emirates fleet in 2003. This saw the launch of the First Class Suite which has since been rolled out on the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380.

Number of Aircraft: 1 Capacity: 258 Range: 16,050km Length: 67.9m Wingspan: 63.4m

AIRBUS A340-300

Similar in many respects to Emirates A330-200s, the A340-300 is equipped with four engines giving it an enhanced range.

Number of Aircraft: 4 Capacity: 267 Range: 13,350km Length: 63.6m Wingspan: 60.3m

AIRBUS A330-200

First added to the fleet in 1999, this aircraft operates predominately on shorter-haul routes.

Number of Aircraft: 13 Capacity: 237-278 Range: 12,200km Length: 58.8m Wingspan: 60.3m

BOEING 747-400ERF

Number of Aircraft: 2 Range:9,204km Length: 70.6m Wingspan: 64.4m Aircraft numbers through end April 2016 | 105 |

This aircraft is capable of carrying up to 117 tonnes. The deck-side cargo door, with a height of approximately three metres, allows the uplift of oversized shipments that cannot be accommodated in the belly-hold of passenger aircraft. The nose door allows the carriage of long pieces.

K N O W L E D G E

DESTINATION How a city works. This month: Vienna

Vienna

Bratislava

Budapest

Belgrade

WHAT VIENNA GAVE THE WORLD 1498

Emperor Maximilian I founds the Vienna Boys’ Choir.

1752

The Danube River passes through 10 countries and four capital cities, including Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade.

Tiergarten Schönbrunn (Schönbrunn Zoo) is founded, making it the world’s oldest zoo.

It’s now a Unesco World Heritage Site housing more than 700 different species.

The Zentralfriedhof is Europe’s second largest cemetery, with a total size of 2.5 square kilometres. It has more than 2.5 million tombs and graves, considerably more than the city’s living population of 1.7 million.

Among the famously interred are Beethoven, Brahms, Gluck, Schubert, Schoenberg and Strauss.

1766

Emperor Josef the II donates Wiener Prater to the people of Vienna, spurring the growth of the world’s oldest theme park, the Wurstelprater.

1814

Josef Madersperger creates the sewing machine, donating his design to a university.

1832

Prince Metternich demands a new type of dessert on the very day his chef falls ill. Stepping into the breach is 16-year-old trainee Franz Sacher who subsequently creates The Sacher Torte, which will become the region’s most celebrated pudding.

The number 71 tram runs to Zentralfriedhof, which has led the Viennese to say a person has “taken the 71” when they die.

Source: Vienna Tourist Board

1886

Sigmund Freud establishes the world’s first psychiatric practise.

1900

The Snow Globe is accidently invented by Erwin Perzy, who’s trying to develop a new type of surgical lamp.

1927

PEZ sweets are created, taking their name from the German word for peppermint, pfefferminze.

1949

After smoking is banned in Vienna, PEZ invent a holder for their sweets that looks like a lighter. The PEZ dispenser is born.

WORLD’S MOST LIVEABLE CITIES 1

2

3

4

5

Melbourne, Australia

Vienna, Austria

Vancouver, Canada

Toronto, Canada

Calgary, Canada

Source: EBTL – Italian tourist office

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TODAY HIT THE ROAD. TOMORROW HIT NE W H EIG HTS.