Showing posts with label Dubai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dubai. Show all posts

Monday, January 30

Just Found Out About Dubai's Underwater Tennis Court


The Middle East has had many outlandish projects over the years. As part of our summer series, we will be looking back at some of the most colourful and extraordinary proposals and investigating what happened to them.

The first project, which made global headlines back in April 2015, was a proposal to build an underwater tennis stadium off the Dubai coast.

The plans were pitched by Polish architect Krzysztof Kotala, who has a Master of Science in Architecture from Kraków Polytechnic and owns the 8+8 Concept Studio in Warsaw.


He completed initial designs for the ambitious project, but admitted he had not made much progress in attracting investors or gaining official approvals from Dubai authorities.

“There is not an investor but I would like to get interest as I think it is a good idea,” he told Arabian Business in April 2015.


The design proposal involved seven arenas, with a carbon-glass glazed dome above the court and located in the seabed within a reef off the coast of Dubai, near the famous Burj al Arab hotel.

Kotala said he believed the idea had strong commercial potential and would combine the best of “technology, ecology and sport.”

Plans went quiet until Kotala told Arabian Business in January 2016 he was in talks with potential backers in the United States to make the project a reality and he was working on the final designs for the concept. “This process takes a few months,” he conceded.

Again, things went quiet. Arabian Business contacted Kotala in May this year and he said he had created a website and a Youtube video in order to help generate interest in the project but he admitted he still had “no money to build it” and may look to develop a smaller arena first. He said he was hoping to try and drum up funding in Cannes this summer to help finance his underwater dream.

Saturday, October 1

Protests in Iran


DUBAI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Protests continued in several cities across Iran on Thursday against the death of young woman in police custody, state and social media reported, as a human rights group said at least 83 people had been killed in nearly two weeks of demonstrations.

Mahsa Amini, 22, from the Iranian Kurdish town of Saqez, was arrested this month in Tehran for "unsuitable attire" by the morality police that enforces the Islamic Republic's strict dress code for women.

Her death has sparked the first big show of opposition on Iran's streets since authorities crushed protests against a rise in gasoline prices in 2019.

"At least 83 people including children, are confirmed to have been killed in (the) #IranProtests," Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, said on Twitter.  READ MORE...

Friday, October 8

World Expo in Dubai

Dubai expects 25 million people to visit World Expo

The World Expo is opening in Dubai, and its organisers hope it will attract millions of overseas visitors to the emirate.

World Expos allow countries showcase their latest technology, and they've been drawing in crowds for the past 170 years dating back to Queen Victoria's reign. 

But visitor numbers for this year's Expo may be lower than usual due to Covid as many countries are still putting restrictions on international travel.

On 27 November 2013, fireworks painted the sky from the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, as thousands across the UAE celebrated. A national holiday was even declared for all educational institutions across the country. 

We were overjoyed that we won the bid and would soon be ‘Connecting Minds and Creating the Future’ with the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.