Dubai charity event raises $1m

charity event in Dubai managed to raise $1 million by selling off unique celebrity prizes.

People who took flights to Dubai may have been among those who helped to raise $1 million (£640,000) for charity at a recent auction.

The event, hosted by the Dubai International Film Festival and Swiss watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen, was found to be a huge success, as it raised an impressive sum for Dubai Cares and Oxfam.

Lots sold at the auction included a watch from the manufacturer which had been designed especially for the event and the Pablo Picasso work Bacchanale au Taureau.

Tariq Al Gurg, chief executive officer of Dubai Cares, said: “The money raised will support Dubai Cares’ primary education programmes that are currently reaching five million beneficiaries in 24 developing countries around the world.”

Some people taking flights to Dubai in order to attend the film festival may have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Tom Cruise, who was in the emirate to promote the latest film in the Mission Impossible franchise.

Written by Erin Marshall