From walking tall on stilts at Dubai’s Global Village to learning to walk again

From walking tall on stilts at Dubai’s Global Village to learning to walk again

Star performer's loved ones begin 16,000-km journey on foot to help heal her

By Philip Green Published: Tue 25 Oct 2022, 6:00 AM

Tonight, Global Village will open its doors for the 27th season. The annual festival has become an important event in the UAE’s social calendar, owing largely to performances it hosts every year. From costumed characters to the stage design, the sheer quality of entertainment on offer is truly world class. Tonight would have been fifth year in a row that Mererid Rees would have participated in Global Village’s opening night had her life not changed forever on the evening of November 16, 2021.

The British performer was a notable figure in Global Village. If Mererid wasn’t performing as one of the costumed characters that we have come to associate with Global Village, she would be posing for photos on top of stilts, zooming around the park as a tourist on a segway or playing a sleepy character going for a walk on top of a giant teddy bear.

“I loved the variety that my job offered,” Mererid tells Khaleej Times, adding that the entertainment management loved her versatility as much as the crowds did. No wonder then she was appointed team