The UAE National Orchestra, the country’s official national orchestra, will open its second season with To This Land, We Belong, an ode to the UAE featuring three world premieres by renowned Emirati composers Khalid Nassir, Ali Kano, and Fayez Al Saeed, with words by acclaimed Emirati poet, Arif Al Khajah. The concert will be performed on 18 September at The Arts

Some comedians build their material around everyday annoyances. Mo Amer has had unusually large life experiences to work with. Displacement. Migration. Family. Religion. America. Palestinian identity. Belonging. Bureaucracy. Success. And the strange situations created when one person spends a life moving between cultures. On 6 November 2026, Amer brings that perspective to Etihad Arena on Yas Island as part of the Abu Dhabi Comedy Festival. The comedian, writer and actor has developed one

Some performances become successful. A much smaller number become cultural symbols. Riverdance belongs to the second group. What began as a short interval performance in the 1990s became one of the most recognisable live dance productions in the world, introducing millions of people to a modern theatrical version of Irish dance. More than three decades later, Riverdance is returning to the UAE. On 31 October

Comedy has always depended on recognition. A comedian notices something the audience has experienced but rarely says aloud. A family habit. An accent. An awkward social rule. A strange relationship between parents and children. The room laughs because everyone suddenly realises they know exactly what the performer means. Few comedians have built an international career around that mechanism as successfully as Russell Peters. On 25 October 2026, Peters

The All-Star Sumo Competition, hosted by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), will take place at Abu Dhabi’s Space42 Arena on 26th September, marking the UAE’s first international professional sumo competition and bringing one of Japan’s oldest and most distinctive sporting traditions to the capital. Nine elite rikishi from Japan, Mongolia and Egypt will compete

K-pop has grown far beyond the boundaries of Korean popular music. It is now a global entertainment culture built around music, choreography, fashion, visual storytelling, social media and highly organised fan communities. On 26 September 2026, that energy comes to Etihad Arena through K-POP Fever, a live production designed around the high-impact music and performance style that has helped turn Korean pop

European basketball is coming to Abu Dhabi in a new format. On 18 and 19 September 2026, Etihad Arena will host the EuroLeague Basketball SuperCup, bringing together Real Madrid, Olympiacos Piraeus, Fenerbahce and Dubai Basketball for a two-day tournament on Yas Island. For basketball fans in the UAE, that lineup is significant. Three of Europe’s most recognised basketball clubs will share the court

Some of the most exciting events on Abu Dhabi’s calendar are not designed for adults. From 11 to 13 September 2026, Etihad Arena welcomes PAW Patrol Live! “Heroes Unite,” bringing Ryder, Chase, Marshall, Skye and the rest of the popular rescue team into a large-scale live production on Yas Island. For young fans, the attraction is immediate. Characters they normally see on television

UAE National Orchestra at Etihad Arena: Abu Dhabi’s Classical Music Ambitions Take Center Stage Abu Dhabi is well known for Formula 1, international concerts, museums, major sporting events and ambitious architecture. On 10 October 2026, another part of the capital’s cultural identity will move into the spotlight. The UAE National Orchestra takes the stage at Etihad Arena on Yas Island for a programme

Artificial intelligence is often discussed as though language were simply an interface. Ask a question. Receive an answer. Translate a sentence. Generate some text. But language is much more than a way of communicating with software. Language carries knowledge. History. Identity. Business. Education. Media. Culture. And increasingly, economic value. That broader idea sits at the centre of the fifth Congress of Arabic & Creative Industries, taking place on 20 September 2026 at Manarat Al