Trevor Noah praises the UAE: “It’s a whole different swag”

The funny man joked about the swagger in Dubai’s airport and airline.

South African comedian Trevor Noah is clearly a fan of the UAE. He performed at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena on 3 October 2023, and praised Dubai International Airport and Emirates Airline. The crowd loved his unique sense of humour, as he made jokes about Dubai and its “swagger”. 

Trevor is currently travelling the globe as part of his Off The Record world tour, and has performed in Europe, Asia and now the Middle East. During the set, he made jokes about losing his luggage in Paris, battling the traffic in New Dehli, and going through immigration, post-Brexit in London. When it came to describing Dubai, however, he was impressed with the experience. 

“Emirates [Airline] don’t play those games. The videos come down and the video starts – boom. That’s swag. Most countries around the world are like, ‘we’ll do it in English so people are comfortable’. Emirates are like, ‘hell no, you know what time it is, you’re coming to our country, we’ll finish our announcements and then we’ll get to you’. I love that. You sit there and you have no clue what’s happening. None. That’s where Emiratis are too cool.”

Trevor was impressed with the innovation in the country, from the architecture to the technology at Dubai International Airport. He continued: “It’s a whole different swag – the feeling when you land, and those giant elevator doors. Have you ever gone past the elevators in your life? Think about it, you haven’t? That’s how much swag they have in the Emirates. Those elevators in the airport, they don’t have buttons. You don’t need to push a button, it will come. We are out there looking like idiots, all of us running. People run in and the other one opens anyway. You can tell how primitive we are.

“The Emirates guys are just chilled. Have you seen passport control? You don’t even talk to anybody. You just come there and scan the thing. The little robot has got more swag than any of us. He tells you straight, ‘look here, look here’”, he said, pointing at his eyes. “You’re like, I’m trying. Do you see how stupid you feel looking at that robot.”

Trevor went on to praise Emirati men, especially in airport security. He stated that it takes swagger to dress in all white and not get dirty. He added: “If you do speak to one of the Emirates guys, these guys are chilled, man. They are hanging out there, and sitting in those booths. No sweat – literally, no sweat. They just sit there.” He gestured with one finger, and imitated the staff. “They just carry on talking to each other as well. That’s when you know you know you’ve got swag. Every other country terrifies you and asks you ‘where are you from, and what do you do?’ Here they’re like, ‘we know, we got you, this is just for whatever, man’”. 

Trevor was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is best known for hosting Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. His comedy specials include The Daywalker, Crazy Normal, and It’s My Culture. Plus, he is the author of the bestseller Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood.

Tickets are still available for his tour in the United States and United Kingdom. 

GO: Visit www.trevornoah.com for more information.