Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend kicks off in style

It's the biggest sporting carnival of the year – and tens of thousands of people have flocked to the capital to be part of it.
Celebrations for this year's Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix kicked off in style last night as revellers packed the Corniche to watch performances by UAE rockers Nikiton, as well as international acts Juicy J, Chada Hassoun, Jae Franklin and Two Tone for the first night of Yasalam's Beats on the Beach.
The Filipino contingent went wild when pop superstar Charice brought down the curtain.
Emirati Ahmed Mohammed Ali, 23, said: "I just love being here with my friends. They are always fun evenings.”
At Yas Island, Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf got things off to an electric start at the du Arena as the first of four post-race concerts kicked off.
The Arab Idol winner set the tone with a polished performance with a mixture of tracks from his debut album, Assaf, and traditional folk songs. He was followed by Emirati Fayez Al Saeed who wowed the crowd with his smooth Gulf pop style backed by a 10-piece orchestra. In the coming days, the venue will host superstar DJ Armin van Buuren, pop star Pharrell Williams and rock and roll legends The Who.
And it is not just the entertainment industry that is capitalising on Grand Prix weekend and drawing in the crowds. Hotels across the capital are reporting capacity bookings, too.
Jethro Salamila, reservation agent at Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi, of which part of the Yas Marina Circuit track famously runs underneath, said rooms for the entire Grand Prix weekend were sold out.
"Basically, we require a minimum stay of four nights for the Formula 1, and other events,” he said. "Some guests are coming from Europe, the United States, and others from the Middle East.
"All our in-house guests have the exclusive benefit, so only they can have access to the restaurants and terrace [during event times] where they can watch the race, as well as from the hotel terrace and room balconies.”
A reservation agent at Crown Plaza Abu Dhabi Yas Island said they were fully booked.
"It is because of the Formula 1, and for the past three or four years, since the Formula 1 race has been occurring, we have been fully booked,” said Rami Azai.
Akil Pratha, reservation supervisor at Centro Yas Island, said his hotel still had some vacancies, with most of guests here specifically for the F1 weekend.
"We still do have some rooms available, not 100 per cent booked,” he said. "Most, of course, are coming for the Formula One, we can say almost 90 per cent for the race.”
And, for the rich and the mega-rich, finding a place to moor their yacht could be problematic. Marina companies say berths have been booked for months in advance in anticipation of the F1 season finale.
Marina companies say berth have been booked for months, with more than 220 yachts from all over the world due to dock, according to Cedric Le Rest, general manager of Yas Marina.
"Race week is our biggest and busiest week of the year, and this year is the most successful yet, attracting huge numbers of both guests and yachts since the event's inception in 2009,” said Mr Le Rest.
"The atmosphere here is electric with yachts arriving from across the region and internationally.”
A new attraction this year is the new Yas Mall nearby, which opened its doors on Wednesday.
The opening day of the 2.5-million-square-metre centre was not without its shortcomings with many of its 370 stores not opened during the week. However, a mall spokesman said that the majority of shops would be open for business when the action gets underway today for the race's three practice sessions.