Long before it was the capital of superlatives, the epitome of 21st century progress, a sea of glass skyscrapers rising from the arid desert, and ironically a whole mini-world rising from the adjacent sea, an almost mythical urban futurescape that somehow really exists, Dubai was a humble fishing village centred around a small inlet on the shores of the southern shores of the Persian Gulf.

Actually we exaggerated just a bit there at the very beginning, with our use of the word “long”, as the most famous Emirate's population didn't crack the 100,000 mark until into the 1970s. Yes, in a scant few decades, Dubai has gone from a relative unknown Arab backwater to one of the handful of cities that can truly be considers Meccas of the modern world and globalisation - earning (or perhaps “purchasing” would be the more appropriate term) its spot along with names such as New York, London and Tokyo.

Among countless other honours, Dubai will be hosting the Expo 2020, the major international business and culture event held only every five years - most recently in Milan (2015) and Shanghai (2010). The Expo 2020 theme is Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, and will be opening on 20 October 2020. Keep your eyes on this space as we will be launching our full guide to both Dubai and the Expo in the near future!