Events postponed or cancelled as mark of respect

A number of sporting, music and public events have been cancelled or postponed as a mark of respect to the mourned leader.

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A number of sporting, music and public events have been cancelled or postponed as a mark of respect, including last night's public launch of Yas Island's Ferrari World theme park. Here is a list of what is on and off.

Still on

The Yasalam 2010 programme will go ahead with some minor adjustments. The official F1 FanZone will open from 5pm to midnight tonight, weekdays from 5pm to midnight and weekends from 5pm to 1am until the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 14. Cinema by the Sea, at Al Sahil beach, will be showing classic car films from tonight until November 3.

The Football League confirmed that its matches would kick off as planned, without the UFL anthem and music. Fans will be discouraged from singing, chanting or drum-beating. A one-minute silence will also be observed before all games.

The series of cricket matches between South Africa and Pakistan will go ahead as scheduled.

Managers at hotel and food and beverage outlets in Abu Dhabi and Dubai said normal operations would continue pending an official announcement from their respective tourism authorities. Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, the executive director, media relations and business development at the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said a directive would be issued to hotels and live music venues.

The Al Ain Rotana and InterContinental hotels planned to continue with business as usual indoors, although both have cancelled all outdoor events throughout the weekend.

A rugby tournament scheduled for tomorrow at Zayed Sports City will go ahead as planned.

The UAE's first Stroke Awareness Day campaign is going ahead tomorrow as planned.

The Green Abu Dhabi art exhibition will remain open.

Postponed

Ferrari World's public launch was called off yesterday and will now take place on November 4, starting at noon.

A press conference scheduled today to announce the Sheikh Saqr football tournament has been moved to November 1.

The Community Art Auction scheduled for Saturday in Sharjah will be postponed until next month.

The ceremony for the winners of the UAE Excellence Award for Government Performance, which is under the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Government Excellence Programme, was postponed until further notice.

The Burjuman Pink Walkathon originally scheduled for tomorrow in Dubai, was postponed to November 5 beginning at 8am. Registered participants can contact BurJuman on 04 352 0222 for any queries.

Dubai Cares postponed the Arabic comedy show "Laugh with Wonho Chung" scheduled for today.

Cancelled

The Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation has cancelled today's charity concert Salam Ya Quds at the Emirates Palace hotel. Anyone who has purchased tickets through TimeOutTickets.com will be offered the option of either receiving a full refund or donating the cost of tickets to the charity "A Child A Promise" in aid of the children of Palestine. Those who purchased tickets from Emirates Palace hotel are requested to visit the Salam Ya Quds ticket desk today, between 3pm and 7pm.

Today's Sharjah Book Fair panel discussion has been cancelled, although the rest of the fair is proceeding as planned.

Local TV And Radio

Stations across the country have replaced their regular broadcasts with verses from the Quran or classical music. Most have yet to announce when they will be resuming broadcasts. Abu Dhabi Classic FM radio station will resume regular broadcast on Saturday at noon while DubaiEye radio station expects to resume regular broadcasting also on Saturday, at 10pm.

* With additional reporting by Vesela Todorova, Mitya Underwood, Essam al Ghalib and Hala Khalaf