Tag Archives: dubai lifestyle news
Dubai to stage F1 test events?
The state-of-the-art Dubai Autodrome could be set to host Formula 1 (F1) test races, it has been suggested.A meeting took place in Montreal earlier this month, where teams agreed to extend the in-season testing process.Although there has been no decision as to which venues will stage these trial races, there is a distinct possibility that Dubai will be a popular choice among F1 bosses.The Autodrome certainly ticks all the boxes, as a number of current drivers are familiar with the track.Indeed, Romain Grosjean, Jean Eric Vergne, Pastor Maldonado, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg have all taken a car around the course in the past, while Kamui Kobayashi holds the track's lap time record.The Japanese driver set the fastest time ever seen at the track – one minute and 41 seconds – during the GP2 Asia race in 2008.FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) F1 race director Charlie Whiting visited the site earlier this year and confirmed it was still worthy of its FIA Grade 1 Circuit License – allowing it to hold fully-fledged F1 testing events.General manager at Dubai Autodrome Richard Birch told the facility's Track Talk news website: “Of course we would welcome the opportunity to host F1 testing at our venue. We have the facilities and Dubai has all the infrastructure required for a week of testing.”At this stage it is merely talk and speculation as the final decision is not in our hands or even been made as far as we know.”Dubai is steadily building itself a strong reputation for hosting major sporting events and securing the rights to stage F1 testing would be a big coup.The emirate is renowned for being a glamorous playground for the rich and famous, which makes it a perfect destination for the extremely lucrative motor racing industry.Neighbouring city Abu Dhabi is set to host an F1 grand prix at its impressive Yas Marina track in November 2013. Continue reading
Dubai’s GDP grew by 4.4% in 2012, new figures show
Dubai's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 4.4 per cent in 2012, new figures have confirmed.According to the Dubai Statistics Centre, the emirate's economy expanded at its fastest rate since 2007 over the course of the year.The city fell on hard times during the global financial crisis – with GDP contracting by 2.7 per cent in 2009 – but this latest report highlights just how strongly it has recovered. GDP rose by 3.5 per cent in 2010 and then increased by 3.6 per cent in 2011.This shows the sheikhdom has been heading in the right direction for a few years now and experts think this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.Bloomberg reports the cost of servicing its debt declined rapidly in the past 12 months, which is another indication that the government has brought things under control. Borrowing costs also plummeted in 2012, the news provider revealed.Unsurprisingly, it was the hospitality and tourism sectors that contributed the most towards Dubai's improved performance last year, with restaurants and hotels having a particularly successful 12 months.More resorts reported increased occupancy levels and this has prompted developers to start erecting new hotels in the most popular parts of the city.This means the construction industry – which had been badly affected by the global economic collapse – has found its feet again and anybody who has visited Dubai recently will have seen the cranes moving once more.Businesses throughout the emirate are certainly confident that things are looking up and a study conducted by the Department of Economic Development last month showed that firms are expecting to boost their profits in the second quarter of 2013.Indeed, as many as 91 per cent of the companies that took part in the survey are predicting bumper revenues during the three-month period.On hearing the results, director of the department His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi said Dubai's construction, aviation, logistics and property sectors are all flourishing. Continue reading
College football could be coming to Dubai
Dubai could stage a major US college football 'bowl' in the future, sources have suggested.Some of the less established teams in the North American country are keen to take some of the limelight away from the larger 'Power Five' conferences and a new finale could be the answer.ESPN reports that nine locations have been earmarked for a possible college football extravaganza, four of which are outside the US. As well as Dubai, football chiefs are also considering taking the sport to Dublin, Toronto and Nassau in the Bahamas.Ken Hoffman, chairman and executive director of the Little Caesars Bowl, told the sports news broadcaster that he has been talking to some of the smaller conferences about possibly adding a new bowl in a foreign country.Meanwhile, another source was quoted as saying: “The smaller 'Group of Five' conferences are exploring adding bowl games because they are being locked out by the big boys.”They're looking to create bowl games so their teams will have bowls for their bowl-eligible teams.”American football is becoming increasingly popular all around the world and the annual Superbowl – which features the two best teams in the National Football League (NFL) – is one of the most watched televised sporting occasions on the planet.In fact, some high-profile games have been staged in different countries in recent years and have pulled in sell-out crowds, most notably at London's Wembley Stadium.Although college football is not on the same level as NFL, it is still extremely well supported and is starting to attract more interest from outside the US.Some critics believe there are already too many bowls held each year, but moving one of college football's showpiece events to the Middle East could be a masterstroke.Dubai has already demonstrated the fact it is more than capable of hosting top-class sporting events, with major golf and tennis competitions taking place in the city each year. Rumours have also been circulating that the emirate could stage a high-profile boxing match later this year. Continue reading
