The first edition of The Global Gift Gala was held in Dubai earlier this week at the supperclub Dubai. The event attracted global and local celebrities, socialites, popular TV personalities and many others.  The evening was hosted by Actress and Philanthropist, Eva Longoria.

The event was held in collaboration with Kaskada Management and was generously supported by Falcon Private Bank, GinzaFashion.com, Yanina, Jumeirah Emirates Tower, supperclub Dubai, and Magrabi.

Over US $350,000 was raised through the live auction which will be benefiting the Noor Dubai Foundation, which unites forces to raise money to provide support and medical need to vulnerable groups in Dubai with the hope to create a world free from preventable forms of blindness and The Global Gift Foundation. In addition, The Global Gift Foundation has partnered with collaborating foundations Sunrise K Foundation and The Eva Longoria Foundation, to help raise awareness towards their missions in support of women and children in need.

Eva Longoria said: ‘This was our first gala in Dubai and I am delighted that it has been such a phenomenal success. The people of Dubai have been so welcoming and generous and I am incredibly thankful. We have raised a lot of funds tonight, which will go towards Noor Dubai Foundation and Global Gift Foundation, both fantastic with worthwhile causes.’

Grammy award winner and philanthropist, Ricky Martin, was honoured with the ‘Global Gift Humanitarian’ Award for his continued philanthropic work with the Ricky Martin Foundation, which focuses on the well-being of children around the world in critical areas such as education, health and social justice. Eva Longoria and Falcon Private Bank, represented by Annette Hoiness, Head Private Banking Abu Dhabi and Dubai, presented him the award, Ricky then expressed his first experience of child trafficking when visiting India with a friend, where they rescued young girls, as young as 5 years old, who were being forced into prostitution. The Global Gift Humanitarian award is given to individuals who raise awareness and selflessly give up their time to help socially disadvantaged communities. Past winners include Will.i.am, Nicole Scherzinger and David Beckham.

Stars walked the red carpet before enjoying a cocktail reception held at supperclub Dubai, followed by dinner and a live auction. Lots in the auction included, an Eva Longoria Experience – where 2 guests would join Eva at The Global Gift Gala in Marbella, an exclusive Montegrappa Pen crafted especially for the evening, an exclusive pair of 18 ct gold Magrabi sunglasses which are not available to the public and a surprise lot of signed headphones by 50 Cent, auctioned off by the man himself during the evening.

Performances on the evening came from Grammy award winner, Maxwell, new 12 year old singing sensation Katie Kittermaster, Turkish pop star Metin Senturk and Lebanese star Haifa Wehbe. The MC for the evening was popular local TV personality, Layne Redman.

Eduardo Leemann, Chief Executive Officer at Falcon Private Bank said, “The Global Gift Foundation’s dedication to bettering lives around the world and its partnership with local charity Noor Dubai offers a real platform for positive impact in the region. With our strong presence in the Middle East, it is an honour for Falcon Private Bank to support Dubai’s first Global Gift Gala in realizing its philanthropic goals for the UAE.”

The Dubai event is the final gala for 2013 held by the Global Gift Foundation, which overall has raised over $3,400,000 with all the 2013 Global Gift Galas. The 2014 galas will begin with Mexico in January, followed by LA in early 2014.

Actress, activist and philanthropist, Eva Longoria will be in attendance for the first edition of The Global Gift Gala, taking place on Saturday, December 14th at the renowned supperclub of Dubai.

The Global Gift Gala is a unique international fundraising initiative that forms part of the Global Gift Foundation platform to help raise funds and make a difference towards children and women around the world. Global Gift Foundation and a local foundation in Dubai, Noor Dubai Foundation, unites forces to raise money to provide support and medical need to vulnerable groups in Dubai with hopes to create a world free from preventable forms of blindness. In addition, Global Gift Foundation will be collaborating with The Eva Longoria Foundation and Sunrise K Foundation to help raise awareness towards women and children in need.

Eva said: ‘The Global Gift Foundation is really growing and so I’m delighted to be presenting the first Global Gift Gala here in Dubai, especially at the fantastic supperclub Dubai. We have had phenomenal success with our galas around the world and really hope to build on this with the support and generosity from everyone here, all of whom have been so welcoming.’

At the event, Eva Longoria will also be honouring humanitarian and Grammy Award winner, Ricky Martin with the ‘Global Gift Humanitarian’ Award. Ricky will be honoured for his philanthropic and humanitarian work with the Ricky Martin Foundation, which focuses on the well-being of children around the world in critical areas such as education, health and social justice. The award is given to individuals who raise awareness and selflessly give up their time to help socially disadvantaged communities.

“It’s a privilege to honour my dear friend Ricky with the Global Gift Humanitarian Award. He has been someone I have admired and respected for years for his endless commitment on ending the exploitation of children”, adds Eva. 

The Global Gift Gala in collaboration with Kaskada Management, will feature a red carpet, cocktail reception, dinner, live auction, award ceremony and entertainment with a special performances from American singer-songwriter Maxwell and the young and talented Katie Kittermaster.

Furthermore, American Actor and Ex-CSI star, Gary Gourdan, will be the special guest DJ for the night. Other local and international celebrities as well as high profile influencers will also be in attendance.

This year, nearly £2m has been raised at The Global Gift Galas in Paris, Cannes, Marbella and London with further galas taking place in Mexico, LA and Miami in early 2014. 

L’Atelier Aquafitness recently opened its doors in Dubai to become the first and only Aquafitness boutique in the United Arab Emirates to offer Aquabiking classes. The aquabiking concept originated in Italy in the 1990s and it later spread to neighboring France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and it is now becoming more and more popular in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was developed by an Italian physical therapist to help rehabilitate injured athletes.

Aquabiking is a mix of water aerobics and indoor spinning on specially designed bikes for the water activity which are immersed in a 1m27 indoor pool. According to Karima Rahali-Sebti, Founder, L’Atelier Aquafitness, “When I arrived to Dubai from Europe, I searched for aquabiking classes which I attended regularly and couldn’t find any, so I decided to introduce it to the region. Once you experience aquabiking, you will feel the difference as it has a wide range of health benefits. It is simply an energizing experience.”

Aquabiking, being a full-body workout, has an incredible range of health benefits and body sculpting effects thanks to several water properties. The first factor is the natural resistance of the water because water offers 12 times the resistance of air, aquabiking offers a more rigorous workout for your muscles and makes you work your muscles deeper. It helps improve the cardiovascular endurance and strength. The other factor is water buoyancy. The water supports your body weight keeping your joints safe and naturally supports your spine making aquabiking a low- to no-impact exercise and making it also a possible alternative for those with injuries.

Furthermore, the massage you’re getting from the water whilst cycling helps drain the lymphatic system and eliminates more calories and toxins, therefore smoothens the skin and reduces the cellulite dramatically. Finally, the water cooling effect reduces the discomfort of sweating whilst reducing pressure on the heart. So you don’t feel wiped out after your class. An aquabiking class will give an intense full body workout and will leave you with an invigorated mind and body. A 45 minutes session can help you burn up to 500 calories.

L’Atelier Aquafitness is located on Al Wasl Road in Dubai. A ‘Discovery Class’ for first timers is available at AED 125 only. Singles classes are at AED 155 otherwise value packages of 5,10,20 and 30 classes are also available. Classes are offered daily for ladies only. Classes for men will be announced soon.

For further information, please visit www.latelieraquafitness.com or contact us on 04- 338 8323.