Eid Al Etihad 2025: UAE announces important guidelines for celebrations

Abu Dhabi: The UAE has unveiled comprehensive brand guidelines for this year’s Eid Al Etihad celebrations, outlining clear dos and don’ts for the use of the official visual identity as the nation prepares to mark its 54th Union anniversary.

The guidelines provide detailed instructions on how government entities, businesses and residents can properly use the celebration's visual identity, ensuring a unified national narrative under this year's theme, "United."

The 54th Eid Al Etihad Team this week brought together representatives from all seven emirates in a working session designed to align efforts and create a cohesive approach to the upcoming festivities.

“This year's celebrations reflect the shared spirit of the Union and the cultural and social bonds that connect everyone who calls the UAE home,” the Team stated.

Inspired by Sheikh Zayed's vision

The brand identity draws inspiration from the early street signs that appeared during the UAE's formation under the founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's leadership.

"In an effort to honour Sheikh Zayed's vision, commitment, and involvement in the UAE's development, the logo captures the essence of early street signs, in which he played a role in the decision-making process," the guidelines state.

The logo exists in three variations: a primary version without a frame, a framed version, and a negative version, each designed for different applications and backgrounds.

Decoding the dynamic visual language

“The Eid Al Etihad brand has been established as a unifying visual language across the country, with its dynamic logo and elements allowing for creative co-branding with diverse entities and campaigns. These collaborative efforts ensure every emirate's voice is represented, together composing one locally authentic and nationally cohesive story,” the Team said.

The Eid Al Etihad brand features a dynamic visual language built around three main colour palettes: the Flag Palette inspired by UAE flag colours, the Heritage Palette reflecting cultural essence through neutral tones, and the Seven Emirates Palette, where each emirate is represented by a defining keyword and colour scheme.

The design celebrates unity through interconnected visual elements.

The emblems and the number

Seven distinct emblems represent each emirate through cultural and natural motifs: the enduring palm tree, the historic dhow, the rising sun, traditional dance forms Al Ayyala and Al Naashat, the fort, and the pearl oysters—each symbolising an aspect of Emirati identity and drawing from the land, sea, sun, and soul of the Emirates.

The year number "54" itself draws inspiration inspired by the silhouette of the vehicle license plates in the UAE, embodying the movement and connection in our community.

It is available in three levels of complexity, from minimal designs for complex layouts to illustrative versions for simpler applications.

All visual elements, from billboards to street flags and merchandise, have to be carefully designed to maintain visual balance, clear spacing, and brand integrity across all communications, as per the guidelines.

The comprehensive guidelines include detailed specifications for typography, with Vinyl chosen as the primary English typeface and Athelas Arabic Variable for Arabic text, reflecting the condensed style of early Emirati street signs.

What you can and cannot do

The brand guidelines include clear instructions on practices to avoid when using the logo. Users are prohibited from stretching or distorting the logo, rotating it, or recolouring it arbitrarily. The logo must not be placed on low-contrast or cluttered backgrounds, and no drop shadows or effects should be added.

Other restrictions include combining the logo with other logos, translating it into other languages, or using it as a decorative graphic or background pattern. The guidelines also prohibit using unapproved logo lockups (a combination of both a logotype and a logomark) or placing the logo inside unapproved shapes or containers.

Minimum sizes have been defined to ensure the logo remains legible across different mediums, with recommended dimensions for both print and digital applications.

Celebrations spanning a month

The working session of the Eid Al Etihad Team focused on joint planning and knowledge sharing for synchronised moments that bring communities together across the country.

The celebrations will begin with Flag Day on November 3 and continue until Eid Al Etihad on December 2, the Team revealed.

The Team has encouraged everyone to prepare their celebrations using the brand guidelines available at EidAlEtihad.ae. The Team said additional resources “designed to help create memorable Eid Al Etihad celebrations” will also be released.