Today, the Queen will say goodbye to the luxury cruise ship, the QE2, which was named in her honour.

The ship was named after Queen Elizabeth II when her majesty launched it in 1967.  Today, her majesty will watch the ship set sail from Southampton and later this year, the ship will retire.

The ceremony today was to mark the 55th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation.  At midday, a 41-gun salute was fired to celebrate the occasion and a 62-gun salute one hour later.

Around 300 people were invited to the event, including nine QE2 captains.  The ship will finally retire in November this year after over 40 years in service, however, that is not the end for the vessel.

The ship has been sold to Dubai World for approximately £50 million and is to be turned into a luxury floating hotel.  It will be situated close to the man-made Palm Jumeirah island, just off the coast of Dubai.  This means that if you never had the chance to stay in the QE2 whilst she sailed, you can still have the opportunity of a luxury holiday in the QE2 and combine it with a visit to Dubai.

In August of this year, 2008, Dubai will open what will be the world’s largest shopping centre or shopping mall. It will be called the ‘Dubai Mall’ and will be situated in the Downtown Burj Dubai, a major development for Dubai, which will itself soon be home to the world’s tallest building.

The statistics for the shopping centre are impressive. The mall will be more than 50 football pitches in area, receive over half the country’s shopping footfall, should increase the country’s shopping numbers by more than 30 million with over 1,200 stores, 120 food and drinks shops, an Olympic size ice skating rink and the world’s largest aquarium.

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) UK and Ireland Director, Ian Scott said:

“Dubai has seen an incredible boom in its retail sector with many exciting and pioneering shopping developments being created to inspire visitors. Dubai’s world-class shopping malls and trailblazing projects such as the Dubai Mall showcase how people have come to expect the best from the emirate.”