Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Yay Yas!

Abu Dhabi: It was the weekend that the UAE capital blew all the doubters away and made the world stand up and take notice.

We have witnessed the spectacles of golf's Dubai Desert Classic, racing's Dubai World Cup and the Dubai Tennis Championships, but Abu Dhabi, with its amazing Yas Marina Circuit, eclipsed them all in three days and four nights of pulsating sport, glamour and entertainment unrivalled on these shores.

Dolled up

To see Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, supermodel Naomi Campbell and a phalanx of rock stars rubbing shoulders in the paddock with the likes of Boris Becker, Michael Schumacher, Andrew Flintoff, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Hillary Clinton, and the deputy prime minister of Russia was a first even for this well-travelled observer of sport.

On Saturday, when the media car park was commandeered to accommodate the growing list of VIPs which included kings, queens, crown princes, prime ministers and even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, we in the press corps realised that the event was on a different plane. Forget Michael Jackson's final movie. This really was it.

Yet even days before it had all seemed a world away. Having spent months travelling past the vast construction site that was Yas Island on ever more frequent trips to the UAE capital, it was with an air of cynicism that I approached on Thursday.

A little over six months ago I had been at the circuit to see the first tarmac laid. To say that the surroundings were not a pretty sight would be an understatement.

It was crawling with 41,000 constructions workers, a sea of cement lorries, dust and sand billowing to the horizon, and a multitude of cranes and heavy earth moving equipment. It seemed there was little chance this was all going to be ready on time.

Even a few weeks ago things had not seemed promising. The track still hadn't received final FIA certification, the island's new five-star hotels had not opened their doors and the roads were incomplete.

Depa Ltd, charged with completely fitting out the interiors of five of the hotels - The Crowne Plaza Yas Island, Staybridge Suites, The Yas Hotel, the Rotana Resort Yas Island and the Centro - drafted in 2,450 workers and completed the job in just a month, and just in the nick of time. The hotels finally welcomed paying customers four days before the circuit opened to the public.

Stunning circuit

The results are stunning - beautiful rooms, suites and lobby areas, with restaurants, bars and terraces overlooking the sea, and all a few minutes walk from the F1 action.

But it is the Yas Marina Circuit that is the crowning glory.

Dominated at one end by the colossus that is the red roof of Ferrari World, the sweeping curves with their shimmering turquoise run-off areas against the backdrop of the multi-coloured LED roof of the Yas Hotel straight out of a sci-fi movie and the glistening waters of the Marina with lavish parties on expensive yachts provided the wow factor for hundreds of millions watching on global TV.

Unlike other new venues, the circuit drew universal plaudits from drivers, teams, spectators and even us cynics in the media. It is hard to imagine that any new facility in world sport can match the instant impact of the Yas Marina Circuit.

But I know one that will be trying. Meydan, it's over to you.