UAE AT 50

It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for – the UAE’s Golden Jubilee. What’s On takes a look back at its incredible history. Plus, find out how you can join in the celebrations across the country

Back in 1971, when the UAE was founded, Sheikh Zayed Road was the Abu Dhabi Road and was just two lanes. There were a tiny handful of hotels, there was no Marina, and – gasp – there was no What’s On.

It’s safe to say that things have changed since then. Thanks to incredible foresight by the founding fathers and the determination and creativity of its early dreamers (among them, our own managing partner and group editor Ian Fairservice, who, in 1979, started the UAE’s first English Language magazine that you currently hold in your hands), the UAE has grown at breakneck speed. Modern airports were built by the world’s best architects on the back of the oil boom, while in 1985 Emirates Airline was launched and changed the face of the world’s aviation sector. By 1990, less than 20 years after the UAE was formed, its football team would appear at the World Cup for the first time. By 2010, the UAE was home to the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa. By 2021, the country had sent a probe to Mars, and as we write this, we’re in the midst of hosting the world’s greatest show at Expo 2020.

Now, the country, and its people, are in party mode, celebrating its Golden Jubilee with events and activities across the nation. But if the past tells us anything, it’s that the UAE’s leaders won’t stop laying the groundwork for the next 50 years, and here at What’s On, well, we can’t wait to see what’s next…

A LOOK BACK

What’s On founding editor Ian Fairservice recalls the UAE in the 1970s

Iarrived in the UAE in January 1978 when I was 21 years old. A hotel management graduate, I moved from Assistant Manager of the wonderful Grand Hotel in Eastbourne to take up a similar role in Dubai’s second five-star hotel (The Excelsior, now a Sheraton). My earliest memories are of the whiteness and flatness of it all. With so few buildings and even fewer roads, those are the two characteristics, which I recall.

The Arab world had always fascinated me. I grew up reading ‘war comics’ and always favoured those centred on desert encounters; the Foreign Legion, the Desert Rats et al. As my tastes matured I moved on to TE Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom and anything by Wilfred Thesiger, who I eventually had the honour of becoming extremely close to, and his publisher from 1989 until his death in 2003.

Back then, the only printed media here was the Recorder News Bulletin, which was run off a Roneo [mimeograph] machine, stapled together and sold at traffic lights. It was basically one-day-old news lifted straight from a Reuters teletext machine in Sharjah!

If I wanted to advertise the hotel, I’d have to make 5,000 copies of my own leaflet, drive to Sharjah, which was a long way on not very good roads. I’d then have to pay a sizeable sum in cash for them to staple my leaflets into the bulletin. Radio was in its infancy and television was being tested out for a few shows a day. I recall watching MASH and Emergency Ward. Exciting times, indeed.

After just over a year at the hotel I decided to quit my short-lived hospitality career and launch What’s On, the region’s first English language magazine. Expectations were not high from the public and I think we surprised readers and advertisers with the quality of what we were able to produce, even when the magazine was in its infancy.

I’ve been privileged to spend almost 45 years in the UAE, witnessing the incredible development of this remarkable country and through our magazines – and more than 250 books – helping to document its history. Happy 50th Anniversary, UAE.

A young Ian Fairservice with issue 2 of What’s On, July 1979

THE BIG CELEBRATIONS

Official UAE Golden Jubilee celebrations to take place in Hatta

LET’S CELEBRATE!

OTHER UAE 50 EVENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR

Legoland Dubai Date: Until Dec 4 Come and help build the world’s largest UAE Lego minifigure flag

Beach Canteen Date: All month Dubai’s iconic waterside food pop-up returns to Kite Beach

Expo 2020 Dubai Date: December 2 Witness a very special Expo Drone Show at the Earth Plaza from 7.30pm

Imagine show at Dubai Festival City Date: December 2 Fireworks, flashmobs and an all-new laser show

It’s fast become the UAE’s epicentre of outdoor adventure and natural scenic beauty, but this month Hatta will also play host to the official 50th UAE National Day celebrations, given its equidistance from all seven emirates. Events include a spectacular theatrical show, taking viewers on a historical journey of the last half a century, and will be open to the public for nine days from December 4 to 12, after a special live-streaming on December 2. “The floating theatrical experience will take viewers on a journey through the land’s history in the lead up to the inception of the union and across the 50 years that followed,” said Shaikha Al Ketbi, Head of Creative Strategy of the Year of the 50th. “Through unparalleled creative and artistic storytelling, the show will also shed light on the achievements of today and offer a unique glimpse into the promising future that awaits everyone who calls the UAE home,” she continued. Tune into the official National Day website, or your local TV station, to see the show live on December 2 at 5.30pm. Alternatively, you can also buy tickets online (Dhs300) to be there in person from December 4 to 12, via platinumlist.net. q uaenationalday.ae

Stunning photos capture the UAE’s incredible 50-year transformation

2007 2021

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

1988 2021

Emirates Golf Club

2007 2021

Downtown Dubai

2001 2021

Dubai Marina

2001 2021

Palm Jumeirah

2013 2021

Dubai Water Canal

1970s 2021

Dubai Airport