Dubai: The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature kicks off with the opening night taking place in The Cultural and Scientific Association centre.
The festival, which will host various writers from around the world, will take place in InterContinental Dubai Festival City from March 5 to March 7 with workshops and main event programmes engaging both adults and children. Tickets for the event can be bought by people across the UAE on the Emirates Literature Festival website.
Attending the opening night were Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development. Guests coming to attend the opening night were welcomed at the entrance by the local dance and young girls beautifully decorated in henna holding Oud incense burners.
Once everyone was seated in the hall, the UAE National anthem and the festival anthem, written by Yvette Judge and Joan Scott-Minter, were performed by the Combined Children's choirs accompanied by the pianist Stuart Squire. Following the performance was the welcome address given by Shaikh Nahyan.
"The literature festival has become an essential part of the scene in the United Arab Emirates," said Shaikh Nahyan.
He also added that readers cannot resist such a special festival that celebrates literary works. The literature festival will allow readers to explore books of different genres written by an array of authors coming from different backgrounds.
"This literature festival will celebrate authors, reward readers and allow us all to reflect on the very act of reading," said Shaikh Nahyan.
Readers owe it to themselves to regard books with respect in order to legitimately criticize and appreciate these books, he said. The UAE is not among the 900 million people who remain illiterate today and Shaikh Nahyan expresses that the country wishes to keep it that way.
"We do not wish in effect to join the ranks, because we have not saved the time to read," said Shaikh Nahyan.
Also speaking at the event was Isobel Abulhoul, CEO of the Emirates Literature Foundation and Festival Director, welcoming guests who will soon embark on a literary journey known as Wonderland.
Among the performances in the opening night are Scheherazade and Knight of Peace, played by pianist Jason Kouchak. Also, a one of its kind puppet show titled Horse Life, with War Horse Puppets, produced by The Nationak Theatre of Great Britain in association with Handspring Puppet Company.
