For the people behind Kalayaan 2026, the day belonged to the Filipinos — but the sentiment behind it, they said, was unmistakably Emirati.
Rashed Al Tamimi, director of Emirates Loves, the platform that organised the celebration, said the event had grown into far more than a yearly fixture on the community calendar.
“Kalayaan is not just an annual celebration. It has become a day of pride, a day of freedom, a day of celebration within the Filipino community in the UAE,” he shared with TGFM.
Surveying the crowd of more than 60,000 that filled the Dubai World Trade Centre on June 7, Al Tamimi said what struck him was not the size of the turnout but its familiarity. The energy on display, he said, was simply how Filipinos carry themselves day to day.
“You see people of all ages, all backgrounds, all different work fields, all coming together,” he said. “This is how we see the Filipino community every day. They’re vibrant, full of life, full of joy. It’s just a matter of fact that we have everyone here today in a specific place, so it’s not a surprise at all.”
Asked what he would say to Filipinos marking the occasion, Al Tamimi offered a direct message of belonging.
“Our message is that you are loved by the Emirates. Your culture is respected. This is your second home, will always be your second home,” he said. “Kalayaan is your day, and your joy is our joy.”
Emirates Loves has staged similar large-scale community celebrations for other groups in the UAE, including back-to-back editions of Emirates Loves India that each drew crowds in excess of 100,000. The Philippine edition is anchored in a relationship that stretches back more than five decades, with formal diplomatic ties between the two countries established in 1974.
