Cityscape’s sinking feeling

The man playing the gold-plated piano on the Meydan stand at this year’s Cityscape exhibition in Dubai was reminiscent of a scene in the blockbuster film Titanic: as the famous ship sunk, the band played on. The pianist was the only reminder of the exuberance that used to define this property show. Once upon a time, crowds came from near and far to get a glimpse of the ambitions of Dubai’s property developers. Enticed by glitzy displays of model cities, they queued for hours at stands, eager to put down a deposit on a property that was yet to be built and which they probably couldn’t afford. Developers spent millions of dirhams pulling out all the stops to ensure their wares received the attention they needed. As competition intensified towards the middle of 2008 in the run-up to that year’s extravaganza, the chief executive of one newly created developer even