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Over Race Weekend 2021, stars such as Usain Bolt, Stormzy, and Gerard Butler descended on Abu Dhabi to witness Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen face off on the track.

And once again, the Rich List Group took over the Royal Terrace at W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island for its star-studded, annual Palm Garden bash last Thursday. It coincided with The Global Gift Gala which saw stars like Eva Longoria attending, alongside musical guest Anastacia.

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Past editions of Palm Garden have seen Hamilton, The Weeknd, Bella Hadid, Rick Ross, and Fernando Alonso grace the guest list.

2021 was no outlier in the celebrity stakes, but the party also took a digital turn thanks to a presenting sponsorship from tech firm Metahero, whose 3D (and NFT-convertible) avatars and digital items blur the lines between metaverse and crypto.

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Grand Finale day kicked off with a live art session by street artist Alec Monopoly, a favourite among stars including Snoop Dogg, Seth Rogen, and Miley Cyrus.

Grammy-nominated R&B star Akon then took to the stage for a post-fireworks set at the W Lounge, where the winner of the weekend and current World Champion Max Verstappen also made an appearance.

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At the same time, the inaugural, three-day Proof of Fusion event was underway, bringing together thought leaders in Blockchain, Crypto, DeFi, NFT, GameFi, and Metaverse innovation. 

Speakers included Metahero founder Jonathan Glyn; Richard Stromback, co-founder and CBO of digital asset investment company NeoFlow Asset Management; Jonathan Levi, CEO of Unbounded Network; and many more.

Specials guests included Akon and record-breaking artist Sacha Jafri, whose “Journey of Humanity” became the world’s largest painting on canvas and fourth most expensive artwork sold by a living artist.