Hay Festival Abu Dhabi will host internationally acclaimed authors and thinkers over four days of entertainment and inspiration Hay Festival has today announced the line-up for the first edition of Hay Festival Abu Dhabi (25-28 February 2020), supported by the UAE’s Ministry of Tolerance, featuring a range of award-winning writers, journalists, historians, film-makers and artists in an international programme spanning nearly 100 events over four days. The festival spotlights the latest ideas in the arts, sciences and current affairs, with over 20 nationalities and 7 languages represented. The programme reflects the diversity of communities in Abu Dhabi itself, including writers from all around the Middle East, North Africa, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, China, Nigeria and Europe. A vibrant programme for schools will welcome over 70 local schools, inspiring and entertaining thousands of local students aged 7-16 years in Arabic, English, Hindi and Tagalog. A unique four-day celebration will feature agenda-setting conversations from some of the world’s finest writers and liveliest minds, addressing the world as it is and as it might be. Film screenings in partnership with BBC News Arabic will reflect current social and political situations in the Arab world, while live performances of music and poetry will open and close the festival, and a welcoming free-to-enter festival site with a dedicated bookshop will extend the reach of the festival to a wide audience. Explore the programme and book tickets at hayfestival. org/abu-dhabi. Those in full-time education and/or under 25 years of age are able to book tickets to events free of charge. His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance of the United Arab Emirates, said on the occasion: “The Hay Festival Abu Dhabi will be an important celebration of tolerance and cultural exchange. It will help in our quest in the UAE to build positive relationships with others. We are confident that the Hay Festival Abu Dhabi will be an important celebration of the values of human fraternity that have enabled the success we enjoy today in our country. It will also contribute to the growing status of the UAE as a flourishing cultural hub and an important global center for cultural exchange. “I invite all to attend the Festival with an open will, open heart and open mind. I encourage all of us to seize this opportunity to witness, share and engage in the meaningful ideas and conversations that will stay with us. Most of all, I encourage all of us to have fun and to relish the festival’s expressive and vibrant atmosphere. Let thoughts and ideas resonate with all who attend the festival and let the spirit of human fraternity so active here in Abu Dhabi permeate the dialogue and spread out to the world.”
49
The Source
