54th Eid Al Etihad: Skiers honour UAE Founding Fathers atop French Alps

A team of 10 Emirati skiers have raised the UAE's flag and a 3x1-metre portrait of the founding fathers - late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum - at the French Alps to mark the 54th Eid Al Etihad.

The skiers sang the UAE national anthem, capturing their sense of loyalty to the nation and its leadership.

Conducted in collaboration between Brand Dubai, creative arm of Dubai Media Office, and UAE Skiers Academy, the team took to the Alpine peaks with the slogan "From Desert Dunes to Snowy Peaks".

The expedition was held under the "Our Flag at the Summit’ initiative," launched by the UAE Skiers Academy 14 years ago, in conjunction with  ‘Zayed and Rashid’ campaign launched last year. 

After covering 5,000 kms in a 10-hour flight from Dubai to reach Geneva, the team travelled nearly 220 kms by road to reach the Valtourance resort in the French Alps, including about 90 kms of winding mountain roads and continuous ascents.

The UAE flag and the portrait of the Founding Fathers was unfurled on the summit standing over 3,300 metres above sea level with temperatures touching between -3 and -9 degree Celsius.

As part of the ‘#ZayedAndRashid’ campaign, Brand Dubai, the creative arm of the Government of Dubai Media Office, and the UAE Skiers Academy, marked the 54th Eid Al Etihad by raising the UAE flag and images of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the late Sheikh Rashid… pic.twitter.com/3ur6LuHXOh

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) December 3, 2025