DUBAI: The Dubai Food Festival (DFF) is about to get underway with the launch of the first-ever Darnival event, running from Feb. 24-25, at the Festival Bay, Festival City Mall Dubai. The Arab world’s top celebrity chefs will participate in the event, which is expected to become one of the biggest draws during the most anticipated citywide food festival in the Middle East.
The two-day family-oriented event will capture the imagination and inspire audiences across Dubai with a fusion of fun and entertaining activities from some of Discovery Networks’ newest and most popular brands available exclusively on beIN — Fatafeat, DKids, DLife and DMAX — bringing the channels to life for an eager audience.
Taking center stage at the Darnival festival will be the Fatafeat Kitchen, which returns for the third year featuring live cooking demonstrations by Fatafeat’s biggest celebrity chefs Mohamad Orfali, Leila Fathallah, Daad Abu-Jaber, Salma Soleiman, Karim Haidar, Wafik Belaid, Darine El Khatib and Arda Turkmen. Star of DLife’s show “Ask Dr. Nandi,” Dr. Partha Nandi will make a special appearance and conduct a live Q&A session on health and wellbeing. Darnival ensures plenty of family fun across the two days.
Nancy Hanna, head of brand for Discovery Networks MENA region, said: “Last year, the company witnessed amazing success of Fatafeat Kitchen, and we are excited to partner
again with Dubai Food Festival by bringing Darnival to celebrate the most awaited event in the Middle East. Darnival promises to be an amazing family carnival filled with entertaining, fun, and engaging activities and giving the audience a chance to experience their favorite channels on beIN.”
“We are committed to providing an exceptional experience to our fans and invest in moments that bring our fans closer,” she added.
The 17-day food festival, with a citywide program of events, promotions and activities, will run from Feb. 23 to March 11.
Fatafeat’s celebrity chefs to participate in Dubai Food Festival
Fatafeat’s celebrity chefs to participate in Dubai Food Festival
Ilia Malinin hints at ‘inevitable crash’ amid Olympic pressure and online hate in social media post
- He says Olympic pressure and online hate have weighed on him. He described negative thoughts and past trauma flooding in during his skate
- He later congratulated the surprise champion, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan
MILAN: Ilia Malinin posted a video on social media Monday juxtaposing images of his many triumphs with a black-and-white image of the US figure skater with his head buried in his hands, and a caption hinting at an “inevitable crash” amid the pressure of the Olympics while teasing that a “version of the story” is coming on Saturday.
That is when Malinin is expected to skate in the traditional exhibition gala to wrap up the Olympic figure skating program.
Malinin, who helped the US clinch the team gold medal early in the Winter Games, was the heavy favorite to add another gold in the individual event. But he fell twice and struggled throughout his free skate on Friday, ending up in eighth.
He acknowledged afterward that the pressure of the Olympics had worn him down, saying: “I didn’t really know how to handle it.”
Malinin alluded again to the weight he felt while competing in Milan in the caption to his social media video.
“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” wrote the 21-year-old Malinin. “Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure. It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash.”
Malinin, who is expected to chase a third consecutive world title next month in Prague, had been unbeaten in 14 events over more than two years. Yet while Malinin always seemed to exude a preternatural calm that belied his age, the son of Olympic skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov had admitted early in the Winter Games that he was feeling the pressure.
The first time came after an uneven short program in the team event, when he finished behind Yuma Kagiyama of Japan — the eventual individual silver medalist. Malinin referenced the strain of the Olympics again after the Americans had won the team gold medal.
But he seemed to be the loose, confident Malinin that his fans had come to know after winning the individual short program. He even playfully faked that he was about to do a risky backflip on the carpeted runway during his free skate introduction.
The program got off to a good start with a quad lutz, but the problems began when he bailed out of his quad axel. He ended up falling twice later in the program, and the resulting score was his worst since the US International Classic in September 2022.
Malinin was magnanimous afterward, hugging and congratulating surprise gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan. He then answered a barrage of questions from reporters with poise and maturity that few would have had in such a situation.
“The nerves just went, so overwhelming,” he said, “and especially going into that starting pose, I just felt like all the traumatic moments of my life really just started flooding my head. So many negative thoughts that flooded into there and I could not handle it.”
“All I know is that it wasn’t my best skate,” Malinin added later, “and it was definitely something I wasn’t expecting. And it’s done, so I can’t go back and change it, even though I would love to.”
