5* MEDIA ROTANA
TECOM
P.O. Box 503030
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The luxurious Media Rotana is in a great location, near Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City, offering a plethora of facilities with five food and beverage outlets, including British pub Nelson’s, and a temperature-controlled outdoor pool and massage rooms.

All elegant rooms are furnished with writing desks and LCD TVs. Each offers complimentary tea-and-coffee-making facilities and a minibar. The spacious bathroom features a large shower and bathtub.

*The bus service to/from the Sevens starts on Friday 2nd December and operates daily at set times.

5* JA JEBEL ALI GOLF RESORT AND SPA (call for details)
Exit 13 Sheikh Zayed Road
Jebel Ali
PO Box 9255
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Situated on its own private golden beach surrounded by tropical gardens, it’s no wonder the JA Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa is a multiple award winning hotel. This 128 acre Dubai beach resort has four swimming pools, several restaurants and excellent sporting facilities from; horse riding to fishing or tennis to kitesurfing there truly is something for everyone.
Bedrooms feature spacious bathrooms with large bathtubs and walk-in showers. The decor is light and airy with amenities expected from a 5* hotel.

5* HILTON DUBAI THE WALK (call for details)
The Walk
Jumeirah Beach Residence 
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Hilton Dubai The Walk is apart of the 5* Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort (linked together via a footbridge). Soak up the Arabian Gulf sunshine from the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort’s private beach or outdoor pool. This Dubai hotel is located on Jumeirah beaches’ golden mile, alongside Jumeirah Beach Residence and ‘The Walk’, Dubai’s bustling outdoor shopping avenue with over 350 shops, where you can indulge in some retail therapy.

Accommodation options include contemporary studios, duplex lofts and spacious two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments. This Dubai hotel is within walking distance of Dubai Marina cafés, boutiques and entertainment venues, and within easy reach of downtown Dubai.

5* Atlantis The Palm (Call for details)
Crescent Road
The Palm
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Situated on its own 800-metre private beach on Dubai’s Palm Island, the award wining 5-star Atlantis offers stunning views of the Arabian Gulf. It provides an underwater aquarium, dolphin-swimming opportunities and a fantastic water park.
Arabian décor and large beds are fitted in all rooms. Each room features a balcony with a panoramic view of the city or the Arabian Gulf. Every room is equipped with a flat-screen satellite TV.
Fine dining restaurants include Mediterranean, Italian and French. The award-winning Nobu restaurant serves contemporary Japanese food.

 

Record-breaking crowds, thrilling rugby action, entertainment second to none and an impressive purpose-built venue all ensure that each year the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens is an event to remember.

After 38 years at the Al Awir ground, a move to Emirates new, purpose-built venue, The Sevens, on the Al Ain Road in 2008 proved to be a resounding success, with the spirit of the previous venue encapsulated in a bigger and better setting for one of the region’s greatest sporting and social events of the year.

The Sevens, which boasts six pitches, sees an average of around 120,000 fans streaming through its gates over the three days of the tournament.

The Dubai Sevens has grown into a magical event that not only attracts fans from around the globe but offers some of the best action – both on and off the pitch – anywhere on the planet. Away from the white-hot atmosphere of the HSBC Sevens Series matches and the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series, competitions featuring over 160 International Invitation, Gulf, Local Social, Ladies, Veterans, and Youth teams will see all six pitches in almost constant use over three compelling days.

Central to everything is the main pitch which is transformed into the ultimate sporting arena for the tournament with the free-standing stadium built around a permanent 5,000 seat grandstand set to accommodate the world’s most passionate rugby fans. With fans flying in from all corners of the globe for the event, a jam-packed rugby village providing top-notch entertainment and the best Sevens action, you have a fabulous mix of sport and entertainment that will rock Dubai like never before.

And to complete the rugby extravaganza, the hugely popular ‘Rugby Rock’ concert is held on both the Friday and Saturday night of the event once the action on Pitch 1 has come to an end.

History

What began over 40 years ago with a small band of British expatriates has grown into one of the premier Rugby Sevens events around the world.

In 1970, with a handful of fans scattered along the touchline, it was the Staffordshire Regiment who were crowned the inaugural Dubai Rugby Sevens Champions.

The tournament experienced tremendous growth in the 1970s with new innovations appearing year by year. The first matches to be played on grass took place in 1995 and this was followed a year later by Dubai hosting a qualifying round of the World Cup Sevens. The event has continued to grow in strength each year. By 2006, with a full venue capacity of 32,000 at the old Al Awir venue, the tournament had officially tripled in size since 2001. This rapid expansion continued from there, with the 2008 move to Emirates’ purpose-built venue on Al Ain Road, ‘7he Sevens’, breaking a world record with crowds of over 50,000 spectators enjoying the action and the atmosphere each day.

The tournament has been voted Dubai’s ‘Favourite Sporting Event’ at the What’s On Awards for eight years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008, 2009, 2010).

New developments each year, including top-class entertainment and an ever-expanding rugby village, ensure the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens will remain one of the Middle East’s top sporting and social events well into the future.

In 2008, Emirates Airline, one of the world’s leading sport sponsors, along with the support of the Government of Dubai, constructed a new home for the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens.

‘The Sevens’ is located on the outskirts of Dubai and is quickly becoming the new home of rugby in the Middle East.

The venue features a permanent grandstand with 5,000 seats while temporary stands are erected around this permanent structure for each year’s tournament, so increasing the capacity to 50,000.

Hospitality areas, broadcast and medical facilities and changing rooms also feature in the design as well as a 30-metre wide rugby promenade, featuring cafes and food outlets.

Pitch 2 has been constructed in a bowl shape and is enclosed on three sides by a grass embankment, enabling a crowd of 15,000 to enjoy the sporting action, while a nearby sports complex and clubhouse includes tennis, squash, basketball and badminton as well as a gymnasium and swimming pool.

The remaining four rugby pitches are located close to an 80-metre long clubhouse that houses the offices of the UAERA Rugby Union – the governing body of rugby in the region.