As Beyonce goes on tour to support her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, fans in the Middle East are hoping she will return to the region, despite only London and Paris being currently billed for shows outside the US.
The record-breaking pop star is no stranger to the region, having performed several times in the UAE – most recently at a private show at the opening of Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal in January 2023.
She also headlined the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after-race show in 2009.
But Beyonce's 2005 show in Dubai, as a member of Destiny's Child, was a key regional event for her, marking her Middle Eastern debut. She and fellow band members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams sold out Dubai Media City Amphitheatre, entertaining 16,000 fans.
Just a month after the Dubai show, the best-selling trio announced that they were disbanding.
The Dubai stop was part of the Destiny Fulfilled … and Lovin' It tour, for the band's fifth and final album. The 67-show world tour visited cities in Asia, Australia and North America, wrapping up in Vancouver, Canada.
Released in 2004 following a three-year hiatus, Destiny Fulfilled capped a hugely successful musical career for the band, which first found success in 1997. They were nominated 14 times for Grammy Awards and won three – two for Say My Name in 2001 and one for Survivor in 2002.
Speaking to The National in 2019, music promoter Thomas Ovesen, who brought Destiny's Child to Dubai, said he knew Beyonce was cut from a different cloth the moment she arrived.
“Beyonce came to Dubai the night before the concert while the rest of the band came two days before,” he said. “I kid you not, she went from the airport, dumped her stuff in the hotel, and went straight to the venue for three hours of rehearsals.
“She wore out the group and the backing dancers. She was the band leader and choreographer. You could just tell that she was going to be huge.”
As a solo artist, Beyonce is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 200 million records worldwide, according to Billboard. She is also the most-honoured artist at the Grammys, with 35 awards.
