There are certain events that mark the turning of the calendar year here in the UAE. Global Village is one such attraction — its opening each autumn brings a sense of excitement; its closure each spring marking the end to another successful season.
On May 7 Global Village is closing its doors after six months of fun and family entertainment for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who enter the park.
It is really 26 years now that the attraction has been underway. Each year it brings a smile to the faces of its visitors, a thoroughly unique attraction that underscores the multiculturalism and sheer number of nationalities who call the UAE home.
In one setting, Global Village offers us the world: you can buy carvings from Kenya, drink tea from a Syrian hawker with a huge silver urn on his back, or watch fireworks like up the night sky.
A secure destination
What a joy it is to simply watch people, seeing the wonder of big bright eyes of little children with candy floss stuck to their cheeks, and families enjoying the secure outing.
Although Global Village current season comes to a conclusion, the fun will be back later this year. There is always a sense of anticipation that it will be back again in six months, ready to thrill and enthrall as always.
Even though the attraction has been around for 26 years, each year it evolves with new attractions, finding new ways to bring a smile to our faces.
For those of us who call the UAE home, Global village is a staple of our life. It is a certainty each season. It is a reminder of far-flung places and perhaps too a gentle reminder of the places where many of us left behind before making our new life here in the UAE.
At a time when the post-pandemic world was looking for some hope and aspiration, it was widely popular attractions like Global Village that symbolised both human resilience and our ability to spring back to normality.
For Global Village is a prod to our imaginations, a quick trip around the world and a sense of belonging in something far bigger.
Yes, it is about culture and candy floss, fireworks and fun, but it is also about celebrating life as it should.
