As the UAE celebrates its 50th birthday and looks to the future, can Dubai keep up the frenetic pace of change? The sheikh plans to more than double the number of tourists who visit Dubai over the next 20 years, from 20 million to 50 million, but how is the city gearing up for this influx?

Liverpudlian nightclub entrepreneur Chris Wright spent 12 years
running events in Ibiza, but now he is targeting Dubai as the next party capital of the world, opening a bar in a new complex of beach clubs. He is also benefiting from a relaxation in the rules around alcohol.

A former Miss Great Britain, Amy Kitchingman came to Dubai for New Year’s Eve in 2010 and never left. She remembers being given a red card in the shopping mall for wearing a skirt that was too short, but she too has noticed a relaxation in the rules more recently.

And in one of Dubai’s toughest challenges yet, staff at a major art exhibition are hoping to convince the world that Dubai belongs on the global stage for art alongside the likes of London and Paris. Millionaire art lover and investor Charles is hoping to find a painting to hang alongside his original Picasso on the walls of his villa. Show less