Photo used for illustrative purpose only.

The Irish Pavilion, in partnership with Expo Dubai 2020, is excited to announce that Riverdance, the Grammy Award-winning music and dance performance, will take to the stage at Expo 2020 Dubai with a specially curated rendition of the Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show, “Riverdance at Expo”.

The cultural phenomenon of Riverdance, inspired by Irish traditions and heritage, will grace the stage of Jubilee Park and Al Wasl Plaza from the 4th – 27th November. For the first time, the show will comprise Arabic influences to guarantee a memorable Middle Eastern effect for audiences. UAE residents will also have the once in a lifetime opportunity to audition for a coveted place in the lively cast, and put their dancing skills to the test with regular masterclasses led by the professional Irish dancers.

Riverdance at Expo 2020 Dubai This year, Riverdance celebrates 25 years of success with a unique 25th Anniversary Show; a stunning reinterpretation of the classic composition which has graced stages across the world from the USA to China. The exclusive show for Expo 2020 Dubai, “Riverdance at Expo”, will build on this new version further with unique musical and theatrical cues to Arabic culture, specially curated for the Middle Eastern audience.

Pat Hennessy, Commissioner General of the Ireland Pavilion at Expo noted “Ireland’s theme for Expo 2020 Dubai is Putting Creativity at the Centre of Human Experience with music, art and design at the heart of this theme. Riverdance is a fitting expression of this innate cultural creativity which has garnered Ireland a global reputation for excellence in the arts. We look forward to welcoming thousands of visitors to Expo 2020 to experience this unique and memorable cultural phenomenon”.

Padraic Moyles, Executive Director of Riverdance noted that, “Riverdance at Expo is something truly spectacular, and we cannot wait for visitors at Expo 2020 Dubai to witness the vibrant performance we’ve worked on over the last few months. We’re so proud to be able to bring Ireland’s most iconic production to the Middle East at Expo 2020 Dubai. We encourage everyone in Dubai to get involved in our exciting competition and masterclasses for a chance to experience traditional Irish culture.” Competition Committed to bringing the passion and palpable energy of Riverdance to residents of the UAE, and building on important themes of diversity and inclusivity, Riverdance will hold auditions for a coveted place in the cast. Residents with a passion for dance are invited to audition for the chance to train with the professionals in Dubai. The lucky winner will immerse themselves in the Riverdance culture and perfect their skills daily for 25 days straight before joining the cast on stage during the Grand Finale Show on the 27th of November. Auditions are open to anyone aged 16 and above for the chance at becoming the first UAE cast member to join the Riverdance family.

Masterclasses Over the duration of their Dubai residency, the Riverdance team will host 52 free masterclasses and pop-ups performances at Expo 2020 Dubai at its various stages, as well as Kite Beach Dubai. The professional dancers will lend their skills to guests who wish to get involved and brush up on their Irish dancing. Those who take part in the masterclasses will showcase their skills on 27th November at a must-see flash mob performance in Jubilee Park. Riverdance is aiming to break the current world record of flash mob participants at Expo 2020 Dubai currently standing at 1,667, therefore everyone is encouraged to part with friends and family.

Catch “Riverdance at Expo” from 4th – 27th November at Expo 2020 Dubai, guaranteeing a memorable performance for all visitors who attend the World’s Greatest Show. Don’t miss the chance to see the exclusively orchestrated production, with a Middle Eastern twist.

Riverdance: Originally a 7-minute Eurovision interval act performance that dazzled TV audiences in 1995, Riverdance has become a full-length musical, dance and theatrical performance achieving worldwide acclaim. To date, Riverdance has been performed over 12,160 times and has been seen live by over 27.5 million people in 546 venues worldwide.

Twenty-five years on from the first time Riverdance the Show premiered at The Point Theatre Dublin, composer Bill Whelan has rerecorded his mesmerising soundtrack while producer Moya Doherty and director John McColgan have completely reimagined the ground-breaking show with innovative and spectacular lighting, projection and stage designs with new costume designs by Joan Bergin, to create Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show.

Technology Start-Ups deal: Technology Park Malaysia Corporation Sdn Bhd (TPM) makes its opening week debut for Malaysia Pavilion’s programmes at Expo 2020 Dubai by entering into a collaboration with Dubai’s first private multi-sector technology business incubator, Ztartup Village to promote entrepreneurial development and boost start-up activities within the technology intensive sectors. TPM and Ztartup will offer soft landing and co-incubation programmes that focus on 4th Generation Incubation, Co-incubation, Early Adopter/Open Innomart and Stargazer Mentoring.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) exchange ceremony was done between Amiruddin Abdul Shukor, who represented Dzuleira Abu Bakar, Group CEO of TPM and John Francis, CEO of Ztartup Village. The exchange was witnessed by the Ambassador of Malaysia to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) His Excellency Mohd Tarid Sufian and Ztartup Village Founder, Shaffi Mather at the Malaysian Pavilion.

“We are honored to have Ztartup on board as our co-incubation partner as this alliance will provide a platform for us to explore greater opportunities for global commercialisation collaboration, foster closer partnerships and networks to scale-up entrepreneurs’ growth. Participants can expect to establish a network for collaboration between nations, organisations, innovators and fellow startups via shared global commercialisation challenges. Start-ups will now be able to have better access to the best support from both entities’’, said Dzuleira.

In its 25 years, TPM has contributed tremendously to Malaysia’s nation building, in particular to the development of the technology start-up ecosystem. It is the first 4th generation incubator service provider in Malaysia, and provides tech infrastructure to budding technopreneurs. It also provides specialised advisory in a comprehensive and integrated technopreneurship development programme.

TPM is currently in talks to build an artificial intelligence (AI) Park offering an integrated AI ecosystem for development and commercial purposes. The park is envisioned to serve as the platform for the development of AI solutions in areas of computer vision, speech recognition, natural language and human/robot. Ultimately, the park will enable the development of technology and talent, data management, R&D and commercial ecosystem which could assist the Malaysian government to address the data ecosystem and AI governance.

“We welcome ideas, potential collaborators and investors to build Malaysia’s first iconic AI park. A designated 300 acres of land in a prime area of Kuala Lumpur has been identified for the site with a total investment of more than RM1billion (USD0.24 billion) over the next 4 years. There is a huge opportunity for AI to flourish in Malaysia. The country is one of the most promising spaces for innovation, and the government has truly invested in the idea that AI is among the key to the nation’s growth in the near and long-term future”, she added. “Start-ups from both sides can establish their presence in Malaysia as a gateway to access ASEAN’s marketplace and the UAE market. The network with TPM will offer participating companies a duration of one year of business exploration, specialised assistance and the use of integrated shared facilities on a pro bono basis,” said John.

“Participants will also enjoy access to high-value facilitation services such as market access, capital, technology and expert advisory, partnership and networking, and business advisory customised to their specific local business needs”, he added.

Promoting “Commercialization – From Lab to International” theme, the first week programme of the world class expo will be featuring delegation of Malaysian start-ups, innovators, accelerators and export-ready enterprises involve in transnational business-matching sessions, product presentations, pocket talks, technology demonstrations and business agreement exchanges. Among the targeted industry sectors are IoT, ICT, healthcare and medical technology, F&B, agriculture and cosmetics. During the first week event, TPM is also invited to speak at a masterclass session entitled “Involvement of the Malaysian Government in the Innovation and Commercialisation Landscape”, at the Malaysian International Tech Summit 2021, held in conjunction with the expo on 5th October at Address Dubai Marina.