Expo 2020 Celebrates UAE National Day With Continent-Crossing Music Video

The new video uses the international language of music to celebrate UAE National Day, travelling through eight countries across the world

From the iconic Middle Eastern oud to the balalaika in Russia, the universal language of music provides the soundtrack to Expo 2020 Dubai’s globetrotting celebration of the 48th UAE National Day in a new video issued today.

Stars from across the world feature in the video, which captures footage of them performing in their home countries, combining to play the UAE National Anthem.

The video begins with oud music in the UAE, before journeying around the world to bring together a diverse array of musicians including Chinese pianist and producer CORSAK, Indian slide guitarist Niki Mukhi, British trumpeter Paul Spong and Saudi musician multi-instrumentalist Hatoon Idrees, alongside individual artists from the Norwegian State Orchestra, Russia’s Minski Theatre and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. A choir of school children from Raffles World Academy provide the vocal accompaniment to the track.

Locations featured in the video include the Dubai desert, the Taj Mahal in India, the fjords of Norway, Rizal Park in Manila, as well as major world metropolises such as London and Shanghai.

The video, directed by Oscar-shortlisted Emirati Nahla Al Fahad, invokes a collaborative spirit that reflects the inclusive, forward-thinking core values of the UAE, as well as Expo 2020 Dubai’s theme, ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.

It builds on the success of Expo 2020’s ‘Orchestra of the World’ video , which celebrated the UAE’s 47th National Day last year by connecting musicians from more than 180 countries in a desert location. It has been viewed more than a million times.

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