The UK celebrated its National Day at Expo 2020 Dubai on Thursday with a visit by His Royal Highness Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, who addressed the first Earthshot Prize Innovation Showcase and met with His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Dubai Executive Council. Prince William gave a speech at the inaugural Earthshot Award Innovation Exhibition at the DP World Pavilion, where it was revealed that DP World has awarded £1m to expand its pioneering environmental solutions, submitted by two of the Earthshot Award finalists Coral Vita and Living Seawalls.
The Earth Shot Award is a global environmental initiative founded by the Royal Institution of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and established by HRH Prince William; To help highlight some of the remarkable innovators of the inaugural 2021 EarthShot Prize, accelerating the creation and implementation of their brilliant solutions to fix our planet. Across the Expo 2020 Dubai site throughout the day, there were numerous showcases of British culture, with a particular focus on musicians from the country.
The “Extraordinary Showcase” at the UK Pavilion featured Rugby League World Cup trophies, a British Cycling gold-medal bike, a Lowden Guitars bespoke guitar, a London Tea Exchange highlighting the world’s most expensive tea and ‘Queen of Couture Cakes’ Mich Turner showing off one of her intricate creations. Lowden Guitars presented a host of up-and-coming UK artists at Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre, including Scottish-American folk singer Daisy Chute, Northern Irish singer Nicha, English indie band Gabriel Templar and Northern Irish singer-songwriter Conor Marcus. At the Jubilee Stage, the Scott Wood Band and Scottish singers Anna
After Prince William attended the Queen Patton Relay Commonwealth Games, he greeted the Dubai Expo fans who waited for his appearance in front of the UK pavilion. He also participated in the ceremony of handing over the Queen’s wand for the Birmingham 2022 Games, launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from Buckingham Palace, in October 2021, when the wand traveled to the Expo site to visit the national pavilions of the Commonwealth.
By evening, Prince William visited Al Wasl Square, he witnessed a magical light show on the Al Wasl Dome, which included the sounds of the famous London Big Ben, and amazing shows and light projections that reviewed the most iconic landmarks in the British capital, London, from the famous London Underground to the Bridge Commentator Clifton, along with eclectic musical performances by The Band of Coldstream Guards, Tom Sales and John Newman.
Al Wasl Square hosted, “Dora Taj Expo 2020”, a distinguished British show that included artistic performances by a number of singers and musicians, in addition to a military parade of the British Guard of Honour in their distinctive red color, and an immersive 360-degree viewing experience on the Al Wasl Dome. The talented piano Tom Sells, amid the presence and interaction of the audience of Al Wasl Square. The charming lights that adorned Al Wasl Dome attracted the attention of Dubai Expo visitors.
By: Delroy Constantine-Simms and Sonia Dixon
