Celine Dion was a star among stars at the 1001 Seasons of Elie Saab event at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
After making her comeback at the Paris Olympics about two years after being diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, the Canadian singer was in superlative form in front of a captive audience of Mena fashion and entertainment luminaries.
Taking the stage last after Jennifer Lopez, Camilla Cabello, Nancy Ajram and Amr Diab, Dion was the crowning piece of the entire show, transforming the energy as only she could. For a brief and shining moment, the celebrities in the room stopped being celebrities. Even stars such as Yusra and Elissa, two of the most popular cultural figures in the region, got on their feet and pulled out their phones. The biggest names in the room visibly forgot themselves, jumping up and down, all clearly aware they were in the presence of a legend.
The fanfare began as soon as she arrived. On the red carpet, celebrities had been giving interviews, and the moment that Dion stepped out of the back of her car, no one in the room could focus on anything, or anyone, else.
Dion sang two songs to cap off the show. First, she performed The Power of Love, a cover of the 1984 song by Jennifer Rush that became a hit for Dion in 1993. Next, she sang an Arabic remix of the 2002 hit I'm Alive, the second single from her album A New Day Has Come, and one that has taken on new meaning for fans in the wake of her health journey.
And while the Lebanese designer’s work was on proud display all night at the fashion show, once Dion came out, it became an entertainment experience first and foremost. And it’s doubtful that Saab wanted it any other way, as he told The National that he’s the man behind 70 per cent of her outfits for her Las Vegas residency – happy to use his own generational talents to punctuate hers.
Dion herself seemed to be in the form of a big Las Vegas show, as energetic and professional as she’s ever been on stage. And for the many in the room that were aware of the singer’s remarkable comeback story, seeing a vintage Dion performance was emotionally moving.
In one sweet moment, I overheard one person say to the person next to her, “I’m so moved just to see her here. This means so much to me.” All night, I heard people mentioning the documentary I Am: Celine Dion, which premiered on Prime Video earlier this year.
Another attendee added: “This means so much more having seen the documentary – seeing how much she struggled. To see her so full of life, to give such a passionate performance, is something I’ll never forget until my dying day.”
While it may have only lasted less than 10 minutes in total, the impact lasted far longer, capping off a one of the biggest nights for fashion and entertainment yet in Saudi Arabia's rise on the international cultural stage, and cementing Dion as one of the greatest living talents.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
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
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Revival
Eminem
Interscope
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
THREE
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Brief scores:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
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Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
More on animal trafficking
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Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
