A year after his sold-out show at Abu Dhabi's Etihad Arena, comedian Bassem Youssef is making another date with the UAE, this time at Dubai's Coca-Cola Arena on November 16.
The acclaimed Egyptian-American funnyman and satirist has been performing his solo show across the US and the UK over the past two years, his tour bringing him to the inaugural Abu Dhabi Comedy Week last year where he led a packed auditorium to chants of “free, free Palestine”.
A surgeon-turned-comedian, Youssef has been in the global spotlight since his viral interviews with Piers Morgan on the Israel-Gaza war. Their first interaction, which was posted on YouTube on October 18, 2023 is the most-watched interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored since the show was launched in 2022, with more than 23 million views.
The former host of the hugely-popular Arabic political satire TV show, AlBernameg, Youssef had to flee Egypt after the show was cancelled following political pressure.
He moved to the US where he started from scratch and sharpened his comedic skills. Besides his stand-up, he has since appeared in several hit shows, including Mo on Netflix, Ramy on Hulu and Prime Video's Upload.
In 2017, he wrote the book Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring.
He's also travelled to the UAE several times since. He participated in a sold-out event at Sharjah International Book Fair in 2023 and left visitors to Cop28 in hysterics when he delivered a talk a few months later in Dubai.
Known for his sharp wit and dark humour, Youssef has been an outspoken critic of Israel and its policies on Palestine, appearing on numerous news channels and podcasts.
He was recently announced as one of the judges on Arabs Got Talent, which is set to return after a five-year hiatus later this year.
Tickets to Bassem Youssef Live start at Dh180 and are available online
