Coldplay’s concerts in the UAE have not only inspired memories of a lifetime for fans but underscored the steady evolution of the country’s live events sector.
Their return to Abu Dhabi next year as part of their blockbuster Music of the Spheres World Tour reflects the fortunes of both the Grammy winners and the UAE’s seasoned and dynamic concert scene. The British band will perform at Zayed Sports City Stadium on January 11.
When they made their Middle East debut at Emirates Palace in 2009, their ambition to become one of the world's biggest rock bands was clear to see and hear. The tour was their first foray into creating an immersive concert spectacle, including the main and intimate satellite stages, the French Revolution-inspired costumes and the surrealistic lighting design and imagery.
Abu Dhabi was also itching to be recognised as a global music hub. When Coldplay took to the outdoor stage, both the band and the city were united in making a grand statement to the industry.
The only thing was, the night was overshadowed by the rumbling sounds of nature. Their show was not held under a sky full of stars, but under enveloping clouds erupting in lighting and thunder.
The near-20,000 fans and band seized the moment and the show is now part of modern UAE folklore, with drenched frontman Chris Martin’s crooning Singing in the Rain an enduring image from the evening.
"I remember the Abu Dhabi show very strongly," guitarist Johnny Buckland told The National in 2011. "I could feel the metal in my belt pack, on stage, you wear one, and I could feel it rumbling as the static was going off it."
He was speaking ahead of the band’s next Abu Dhabi show: a New Year’s Eve slot at the Corniche. By then, both the group and the city‘s stature for entertainment were well established. Coldplay were on the cusp of conquering stadiums with the successful 2011 album Mylo Xyloto.
Fast forward five years and Coldplay's 2016 New Year's Eve concert in Abu Dhabi had the band and city at the top of their game. Touring on the back of their album A Head Full of Dreams, the band were selling out stadiums from the US to Australia.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi firmly established Etihad Park as one of the region’s leading concert venues, having already hosted sold-out shows by Sir Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Eminem and Metallica.
As The National declared in its review, Coldplay’s spectacular gig was the “real deal”. The report praised the large-scale production featuring three stages with cutting-edge production – lighting rigs beaming out swirls of colour, as wristbands – which were worn by more than 25,000 fans – lit up in hues to complement songs.
“There were also cannons that shot lorry-loads of confetti, giant balloons and so many fireworks that the pyro display by the Rolling Stones in 2014 seemed tame in comparison,” it read.
Their most recent UAE performance took place in 2022 when both the band and country were taking leading roles in encouraging the global live events sector’s recovery in the wake of the pandemic. Performing as part of Expo 2020 Dubai, the free concert was an abridged version of the current Music of the Spheres show and provided a clear example to the concert industry on how to execute a high-end production with appropriate crowd safety measures in place.
Coldplay’s coming concert at Zayed Sports City Stadium once again reflects the symbiotic relationship between the group and the UAE’s event sector. The group will return with a roster of new hits, courtesy of their coming album Moon Music (out on October 4).
As for one of their favourite countries to play, Coldplay will be met with the same adoring fans, only this time in a historic venue in need of some revitalisation. It’s a relationship that seemingly grew with the speed of the sound and filled with memorable moments that fleetingly felt like paradise.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020
Launched: 2008
Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools
Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)
Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13
Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
430,000 jobs created
10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water
50 million homes powered by renewable energy
6.5 billion litres of water saved
26 million school children given solar lighting
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Places to go for free coffee
- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
- Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
- Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The five pillars of Islam
Moonfall
Director: Rolan Emmerich
Stars: Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry
Rating: 3/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
