Running from December 1 to 4, Expo 2020 Dubai will mark 50 years since the founding of the UAE in show-stopping style as the country celebrates its Golden Jubilee with renewed optimism for the next half-century. The site-wide UAE National Day celebrations will include world-class ceremonies, exceptional musical showcases, meaningful cross-cultural conversations, culturally-fused performances and engaging exhibits.

As announced by the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2021 is known as ‘The Year of the 50th’. Commemorating 50 years since the founding of the UAE in 1971, it is a moment to reflect on the remarkable journey of its ‘Early Dreamers’ as the nation looks to the next 50 years with the same bold ambition.

Highlights at Expo 2020 include UAE National Day. The day is celebrated every year to commemorate December 2, 1971, when the UAE declared independence as a sovereign nation. It commemorates the efforts of UAE Founding Father, the late His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to unite the emirates.

UAE National Day events at Expo 2020 Dubai

On Thursday, December 2, visitors are invited to Expo 2020’s UAE National Day Ceremony at Al Wasl Plaza. This will include the raising of the flag, high-level speeches and anthem performances by a children’s choir. It will conclude with an Al Azi Performance by Al Wasmi (from 1015 GST).

It will also feature alongside horses of the Dubai Police and the UAE Ministry of Interior Marching Band in the ‘Colours of the World Parade’ (from 1245 to 1315 GST).

A performance of ‘Al Azi’, where an Arabic poet leads a chorus that ‘answers’ his call, will take place at Al Wasl Plaza (1300 GST). A gravity-defying aerial performance by Dubai Police will follow shortly after, alongside a 30-minute musical showcase by Emirati singer Fatma Zahrat Al Ain, and a jaw-dropping flyover display by the UAE Air Force aerobatics team ‘Al Fursan’.

Visitors are also invited to Expo’s Jubilee Stage and Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre (DMA) to watch a live broadcast of the UAE National Day Ceremony, broadcast from Hatta (from 1730 GST).

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