Take a look back at 2017

It's been a good one! We take a look back over the past year and reflect on the top stories as well as all the hot topics we've all been talking about.

January

To start off the year, Standard Chartered hosted its annual marathon. The Dubai Opera brought the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical 'Cats' to the city and Sir Elton John postponed his concert for the second time. 

But it's Kim Kardashian's first appearance following her robbery that really set tongues wagging!

February

February was a particularly wet month, with cloud seeding in full-force! Tiger Woods pulled out the Dubai Desert Classic, causing a scandal as it was the fifth time he had withdrawn in his past 19 tournaments. The Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships went off without a glitch.

But, an incredibly freak weather incident was talk of the town

March

The Dubai World Cup is March's proudest Dubai-based event. This March, Silento was set to perform the hit song 'Watch Me,' but was then banned from leaving the UAE after breaching contracts and not showing up for concerts in the country.

But it was the arrest of 'Skyscraper Daredevil' James Kingston that got pulses racing

April

As the weather began to calm down, April saw the release of the 'Dubai Font,' and we witnessed an epic display of the Dubai princesses performing stunts on horseback.

But when a shopping trip turned into a game of hide and seek in Dubai Mall, the city couldn't get over it!

May

Tragedy struck in May as a crane crashed at Jebel Ali Port leaving many injured. But spirits were lifted upon the announcement of a new royal baby.

This video of Sheikh Mohammed negotiating with terrorists concerning the hijacking of a Lufthansa Boeing 737 in October 1977 struck pride throughout the nation

June

In the month that gave us the Robocop, Sheikh Mohammed made a bold statement to the world with his poem to Qatar. In the poem which was posted on social media, His Highness urged Qatar to “return to the GCC fold” in light of Qatar having links to terrorist funding which led the UAE, Saudi and Bahrain to cut ties with the nation.

The Dubai Marina caught attention as the water turned an unusual colour

July

The US lifted the ban of laptops on Emirates Flights in July, which was a huge relief to residents. Shortly after, Emirates Airlines was in the news again when a plane carrying 185 passengers briefly skidded off the runway.

The first edition of the three-day sale caused absolute chaos in the city

August

Dubai watched in horror as videos surfaced following the aborted landing on the Emirates flight EK 251. In August this year, Emirates ruled out 'mechanical failure' as the cause of the incident and began investigating the pilot. Scandal also struck as Amir Khan announced his divorce while visiting Dubai, resulting in his female friend being attacked in a night club.

But it was the 'Torch' fire that caught international attention

September

Speed limit changes on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road sent everyone into a frenzy with a rise in the number of road accidents. Franco Dragone water-based show La Perle premiered and 90s sensation Atomic Kitten performed.

Sheikh Hamdan witnessed the first flight of the Autonomous Air Taxi 

October

The Jamie Harron incident caught global attention after he was accused of inappropriately touching a man in a popular Dubai bar. Dubai Police unveiled the flying bike and the new 'hoversurf' at Gitex Technology Week, whilst luxury tax on soft drinks and cigarettes began.

And we all noticed something unusual flying through the sky

November

We all ummed and ahhed over whether or not the Dubai Rugby 7s would be a 'dry' event and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw a whole host of celebrities in the region.

And we all started our New Year's resolutions early with the Dubai Fitness Challenge

December

The Dubai Safari park finally opened with a two-week freebie offer. The Dubai Marina Zipline opened to reveal yet another way for Dubai adrenaline junkies to get their fix. Al Qudra enforced some new rules that changed the desert experience forever.

Mohammed bin Rashed gives the royal seal of approval to the Dubai Frame.

News: @HHShkMohd tours #Dubai Frame https://t.co/QUyobBnib3 pic.twitter.com/r8nWRwFlUP

Fireworks at The Burj Khalifa replaced with a light show

 

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