The ride also has carts for people with disabilities
Updated 10 December 2022
Arab News
RIYADH: Riyadh’s Ferris wheel offers a panoramic view of the Winter Wonderland zone of the city’s Season 2022.
It takes riders 55 meters into the sky in 40 carts and can carry more than 600 people an hour.
The ride allows visitors to view the landmarks of north Riyadh and the lengths of its towers, making it among the best places to watch fireworks, which are an essential part of Riyadh Season weekly activities.
The Ferris wheel includes regular and VIP carts. Each cart is equipped with four seats and a panoramic viewing pane, bluetooth connectivity and lighting that radiates the whiteness of snow to symbolize the winter.
The ride also has carts for people with disabilities.
Coldplay will be joined by special guest Chilean Palestinian singer Elyanna
Updated 19 September 2024
Arab News
DUBAI: Grammy Award-winning band Coldplay is set to bring their Music Of The Spheres World Tour to the UAE in 2025, with a performance at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City Stadium on Jan. 11.
This will be their only concert in the Middle East for the tour, as confirmed by promoters Live Nation Middle East.
Coldplay, who last performed in Abu Dhabi in 2016, will be joined by special guest Chilean Palestinian singer Elyanna, who has appeared with the band at several of their concerts.
Ticket presale will begin on Sept. 25, at 11 a.m. (Saudi time) on the band’s website and the Live Nation pre-sale will begin Sept. 26, at 11 a.m. (Saudi time). The general on-sale will begin on Sept. 27, at 11 a.m. (Saudi time).
Since kicking off in March 2022, the Music Of The Spheres World Tour has sold over 10 million tickets across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, making it the most highly attended tour by a group of all time.
Adding to its extensive two and a half year outing, along with Abu Dhabi, the tour is also traveling to Mumbai, Seoul and Hong Kong between January and April of 2025.
Review: ‘I Am Georgina,’ Season 3 — reality TV, Saudi style
Updated 18 September 2024
Saffiya Ansari
DUBAI: Netflix’s “Soy Georgina” (“I Am Georgina”) is back, and this time it explores Argentine model Georgina Rodriguez’s life after her move to Saudi Arabia with partner Cristiano Ronaldo in 2023.
The reality show dominated the Netflix Top 10 in 46 countries after the release of season two. One episode was set entirely in Dubai and showed the Burj Khalifa lit up for Rodriguez’s 28th birthday.
The model-meets-Middle Eastern-luxury formula seems to be one the producers were keen to continue, with fans taken on a whirlwind tour of the Kingdom in season three as Rodriguez and her family explore life in the country.
However, the high-end hotels and stunning seascapes are interspersed with moments of real introspection and fragility, which takes this program from stereotypical reality TV territory to something altogether more inviting and — dare I say it? — heartwarming.
We follow Rodriguez as she embarks on a number of firsts. These include the opening of her first beach house, Villa Perla, to starring in an international campaign for a famous clothing brand and making her debut at Paris Fashion Week by walking for Swiss fashion label Vetements.
One of the most touching aspects of the show is Rodriguez’s relationship with her children — the couple have five, the eldest of whom was born to another mother. The opening scenes of the season show Rodriguez’s worrying about, and praising, her kids and it offers a new side to the woman we are more used to seeing on fashion billboards.
Similarly, the — albeit sparse — scenes of a football legend pottering around with his young family offers insight into Ronaldo as a father, for which the series is all the better.
There are, thankfully, no engineered high-drama interactions and although it does sometimes feel like a carefully staged advertorial, there are candid caught-on-camera moments where the star seems tense and nervous at public events.
She is also not one to shy away from talking about her humble roots and being honest about the sometimes taxing reality of her life in the spotlight and what it takes to be a poster girl for all things glamor.
Mona Zaki-starring ‘Flight 404’ chosen as Egypt’s Oscars submission
Updated 17 September 2024
Arab News
DUBAI: Egyptian actress Mona Zaki and the Egyptian Film Syndicate announced this week that the film “Flight 404” will be Egypt’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2025 Academy Awards.
This means that the film will be considered for the shortlist. If the movie gets shortlisted, it could then get nominated for an Academy Award.
The movie tells the story of Ghada, who, just days before her Hajj pilgrimage, is confronted with an emergency that requires a large sum of money. Forced to seek help, she must turn to individuals from a troubled past she had promised to leave behind.
Besides Zaki, the film, directed by filmmaker Hani Khalifa and scripted by Mohamed Ragaa, stars actors Mohamed Farag, Mohamed Mamdouh, Shereen Reda, Khaled El-Sawy, Mohamed Alaa, Hassan Al-Adl, Sama Ibrahim, Shadi Alfons, Rana Raies, Gihan El-Shamashergy and Arfa Abdel Rassoul.
The Oscar’s 97th edition is set to take place on March 3, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Key dates for the 2025 submissions and voting were announced earlier this year. The deadline for general entries and Best Picture submissions is Thursday, Nov. 14. Preliminary voting for shortlists in ten categories will occur between Dec. 9-13, with the results to be revealed on Dec. 17. The nominations voting period will run from Jan. 8-12, and the official nominations will be announced on Friday, Jan. 17—a shift from the usual earlier-in-the-week schedule.
Last year, Egypt selected Mohamed Farag-starring “Voy Voy Voy!” as its entry for the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film award, while Yemen selected director Amr Gamal’s “The Burdened” and Tunisia competed with Kaouther Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters.” Morocco selected Asmae El-Moudir’s documentary “The Mother of All Lies.”
Jordan submitted Amjad Al-Rasheed’s movie “Inshallah a Boy” and Palestine submitted Lina Soualem’s documentary “Bye Bye Tiberias.”
None of the films won at the 2024 Oscars, though “Four Daughters” was nominated for Best Documentary Feature, a category ultimately won by “20 Days in Mariupol.” This marked a historic moment for director Kaouther Ben Hania, as she became the first Arab woman to receive a second Oscar nomination.
Peggy Gou, Teddy Swims round out Abu Dhabi F1 concerts
Updated 17 September 2024
Arab News
DUBAI: US singer and song-writer Teddy Swims and South Korean DJ and singer Peggy Gou have been announced as the final artists for the 16th edition of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the 2024 Yasalam after-race concerts, headlining the opening day on Dec. 5.
Swims, 31, who blends genres including R&B, soul, country and pop, will take to the stage at Etihad Park and will perform some of his biggest hits including “Lose Control.”
Gou will then perform and close out the first evening of concerts. She will play some of her best-known hits including “It Makes You Forget” (Itgehane), “Starry Night,” “Jigoo” (with US house music legend Maurice Fulton), “Nabi” (with fellow Korean artist OHHYUK) and “Go.”
The rest of the line-up includes US pop rock band Maroon 5, who appear on Dec. 6, US rapper Eminem who will perform on Dec. 7, and British rock group Muse, who will hit the stage on Dec. 8.
Access to the after-race concerts is exclusive to Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix ticket holders.
REVIEW: Colin Farrell is resplendent as Batman villain in ‘The Penguin,’ HBO’s new slow-burn crime epic
The spin-off of Matt Reeves’ ‘Batman’ — a lush and fully realized mob drama — drops weekly on OSN+ from Sept. 20
Updated 17 September 2024
Shyama Krishna Kumar
DUBAI: Audiences will be forgiven for rolling their eyes at yet-another supervillain origin story. But thanks to Colin Farrell’s “The Penguin,” for the first time in a very long time, you won’t walk away from your TV feeling mildly dissatisfied or pining for the long-gone golden age of superhero storytelling.
HBO’s eight-episode limited series — written and created by Lauren LeFranc (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Chuck”) and streaming weekly on OSN+ in the Middle East from Sept. 20 — tells the story of the rise of Oswald “the Penguin” Cobb, or just “Oz,” from underworld criminal to mob kingpin; and does so in a richly realized manner that will earn comparisons to TV epics such as “The Sopranos.”
The show begins a week after the events of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” (2022), where the citizens of Gotham are recovering from the deadly floods released by the Riddler, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing thousands. Oz (Farrell, who again disappears into the role thanks to game-changing prosthetics and acting instincts honed over decades) plans to exploit the chaos of the floods and the power vacuum left behind by the recent death of mob boss Carmine Falcone (Mark Strong).
Helping him in his endeavour is young Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), a wannabe criminal who lost everything to the flood. Oz and Victor’s pseudo father-son dynamic forms the beating heart of a tragic story of corruption, greed and violence; and accurately depicts how monsters are not born but created by a society that is sick at its core.
Additionally stirring the pot is Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone, Carmine Falcone’s daughter who is released from Arkham Asylum after a 10-year stint and is looking to take control of her father’s empire.
“The Penguin” sings when Farrell is on screen. The Irish actor gives the role his all, and watching him go from impulsive and rage-filled violence to quiet vulnerability to easy charm and then wounded puppy is a treat to behold.
And it is not always an easy watch, either. An episode dedicated to Sofia’s backstory that examines her life before, during and immediately after her stint in Arkham Asylum makes for a riveting but incredibly grizzly and difficult sit. Milioti handles Sofia’s justified anger and need for control and power with mesmerizing charm and deliciously dark humor.
With “The Penguin,” LeFranc has created something truly transformative, and no amount of superhero fatigue should keep you from watching it.
