Madonna chose to announce her 2012 world tour immediately after her head-turning performance at the Super Bowl in February. Watched by 114 million TV viewers in the US - and millions more around the world - her half-time pop medley was a formidable statement of intent from the indefatigable 53-year-old.
Her 12-minute appearance featured an eclectic and energetic mix of performers, from Greek warriors, Cirque du Soleil acrobats and a gospel choir, to a high school marching band and cameos from Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A and LMFAO. Oh, and there was Madonna as well, who sung five pop classics and her new single Give Me All Your Luvin'.
Little wonder there has since been such demand for her first live shows in the Gulf. But what can ticket-holders expect to get for their money when she arrives in Abu Dhabi?
Thankfully, these days, Madonna is willing to sing almost all of her classic hits. During 2001's Drowned World tour - which was, at the time, her first live outing in eight years - she attracted criticism for overlooking her older and more popular songs. Just one song from The Immaculate Collection, a 1990 singles compilation widely considered to contain the crown jewels of Madonna's back catalogue, appeared on that tour's set list.
Madonna would later manage to overcome her aversion to her past hits for the Re-Invention tour in 2004. American Life, the album she was promoting at the time, had received a cool reception from both fans and critics so she peppered her live set with her most famous songs: Vogue, Like a Prayer, Express Yourself, Into the Groove and Material Girl.
She continued to blend the old and the new on her two most recent expeditions, 2006's Confessions tour and 2008's Sticky & Sweet tour. However, when an artist has more than 70 hit singles to pick from - spanning three decades of chart success - someone's favourite song will always be left out. True Blue, a number one in 1986, hasn't been performed live since the year after it was released.
But anyone arriving at Yas Arena expecting a nostalgia-soaked trip down memory lane might be in for a shock. Madonna loves to give her familiar hits a contemporary twist - as she showed at the Super Bowl, where she reworked 2000's Music to include elements of Party Rock Anthem and Sexy and I Know It, both recent chart-toppers from US pop-rap duo LMFAO.
Of course, she also has a new album to promote, and MDNA doesn't sound like the work of a veteran artist who's ready to rest on her past successes. Even the LP's title, MDNA, is wilfully challenging.
Taken at face value, MDNA works as a simple and snappy abbreviation of the star's name. It could also be construed as conveying the very essence of Madonna - if the singer is "M", then this record represents her musical "DNA".
But the controversy stems from its intentional resemblance to the chemical name for the banned drug "Ecstasy" or MDMA. Lucy Dawe, a spokesperson for the anti-drug campaign group Cannabis Skunk Sense, called the title "an ill-advised decision".
When asked about the matter, Madonna told the BBC that she just "liked the play on words. It's a triple entendre".
Ecstasy is, of course, often associated with the electronic dance music scene and there's quite a lot of that genre on MDNA. Madonna's chosen collaborators here are all notable names from the world of club pop.
She co-produces two songs with Italian DJ Marco "Benny" Benassi. The French electronic whiz Martin Solveig joins her for three tracks. And there are six new works with William Orbit, the British musician with whom she worked on her 1998 masterpiece Ray of Light. The results aren't as cutting edge as Madonna has often been in the past, but they're certainly contemporary. MDNA features plenty of hard-edged electro-pop songs embellished with up-to-the-minute production flourishes, including rap cameos and dubstep breakdowns.
One such moment occurs on the album's opening track. "You got me in the zone, DJ play my favourite song," Madonna trills on Girl GoneWild, borrowing a line apiece from Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez. It's disappointing stuff, especially from a woman who recently criticised Lady Gaga's Born This Way single for being "reductive".
Elsewhere, Madonna attempts to set a new record for the greatest number of lyrical clichés a pop singer can squeeze onto an album. When she's not "a fish out of water", she's "a bat out of hell", or "a moth to a flame", or "a thief in the night".
But alongside these familiar images, MDNA also features some remarkably personal moments. Madonna's ex-husband Guy Ritchie should probably skip over I Don't Give A, on which she finds inspiration from their failed marriage. "I tried to be a good girl, I tried to be your wife, I diminished myself, and swallowed my light," she sings, before declaring: "And if I was a failure, I don't give a ..."
Yet elsewhere on the record, Madonna seems remorseful. IF***** Up is a frank break-up song on which the singer shows her vulnerable side.
"I blamed you when things didn't go my way, somehow I've destroyed the perfect dream," she admits here, presumably addressing her ex-husband.
Moments like this will certainly provide grist for the gossip mill. But MDNA also succeeds on a more intuitive level. Tracks like Turn Up the Radio, I'm Addicted, Superstar and Love Spent prove Madonna is still a peerless purveyor of pop thrills.
Then there's the album's most jaw-dropping moment, a preposterous piece of pop called Gang Bang. Over an electronic throb flecked with gangster film sound effects (guns, sirens, getaway cars), Madonna plays a wronged woman seeking revenge. Her parting shot? "If you're gonna act like a b****, then you're gonna die like a b****." Just imagine how she'll translate this tune to the Yas Arena stage.
Nick Levine is a freelance music journalist based in London.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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BLACKBERRY
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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 rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
match info
Union Berlin 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')
Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
RESULTS
2.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
2.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
3.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Inthar, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.45pm: Al Ain Stud Emirates Breeders Trophy – Conditions (PA) Dh50,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: MH Rahal, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
4.25pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: JAP Aneed, Ray Dawson, Irfan Ellahi
4.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Edaraat, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
