Emirates celebrated the 50th anniversary of the start of the Dubai Rugby Sevens in a spectacular way. The Emirates A380 took off from Dubai International Airport at 2:25 pm today and headed towards Rugby Stadium where it first crossed the skies at low altitude, at a slow speed and then turned and crossed again, which impressed the audience. The Emirates A380 was piloted by Captain Abbas Shaaban and his assistant, First Officer Mohammed Ahmed, a UAE national.
The Emirates Aircraft on both sides of its exterior carries a special poster to mark the 50th anniversary of the Dubai Rugby Sevens, which has become a major sporting and social event on Dubai's annual agenda. In 1987, Emirates began sponsoring the tournament, which since 1999 has become one of the series of the Rugby Sevens World Championship, and has been dubbed the Emirates Rugby Sevens. The tournament attracts more than 100,000 spectators over its three days, during which more than 900 matches are played in rugby and netball. International singer Kylie Minogue will celebrate the closing ceremony tomorrow evening.