Abu Dhabi // The synth-rock band The Killers will play the capital on December 8, it was confirmed yesterday. The event marks a first, tentative step away from the mainstream for showpiece concerts in Abu Dhabi.
"We've done a lot of pop bands, but this is a really stripped-down rock 'n' roll show with just raw energy up on stage," said John Lickrish, the managing director of the concert's organiser, Flash. He denied reports, however, that the Emirates Palace hotel was the chosen venue. "Right now we're trying to figure out what's best for the band," he said. "We'll be making that decision [on a venue] over the next week."
Tickets to see the Las Vegas-based quartet will go on sale online on October 4. Prices were expected to be announced next week, Mr Lickrish said. Unlike previous concerts, the pricing would draw a wider audience, he added. "We're going to make this one accessible to more people and make it more of a standing show than a sitting show, so that should be unique," he said. "It's very hands-on and they like to get the energy of crowds, so we're going to accommodate that.
"You're going to see something that's part of their normal performance - something a little edgier and off the beaten path. "Hopefully we'll get more people who'd want to see The Killers to come because there will be a lot more cheaper tickets available." An opening act has yet to be announced. The Abu Dhabi concert will be the Middle-Eastern debut for the retro rock outfit, who cite The Beatles, Lou Reed, Oasis, and British new-wave bands such as New Order among their influences. Formed in 2002 and fronted by the lead vocalist and keyboard player Brandon Flowers, The Killers released their first album, Hot Fuss, in 2004. Propelled by catchy hooks and chart-topping anthems such as Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me, the album achieved triple-platinum status in America, selling more than three million copies. In Britain, the NME hailed it as a "head-mashingly brilliant arsenal of tunes". Flowers, known as much for his booming baritone as for his stage make-up, dramatic hand gestures and bedazzling costumes, is joined by Dave Keuning on guitar, Mark Stoermer on bass and Ronnie Vannucci Jr on drums. Their second album, Sam's Town in 2006, won a Brit Award for best international album and has sold more than 1.2m copies in Britain. A compilation of rarities and B-sides, Sawdust, was released in 2007. The Killers recently headlined the European festivals V 2009 and T in the Park 2009 to promote their third studio album Day & Age, which was released last year. The album went straight in at No 1 in the UK album charts, selling more than 200,000 copies there in its first week. The first single, the dance-floor anthem Human, has been a top 40 radio hit around the world. Readers of the US magazine Rolling Stone voted it the best song of 2008. Although chart success has brought the group mainstream stardom, they remain popular in indie music circles. Mr Lickrish hopes bringing a "cult stature" act to Abu Dhabi will help to develop the capital's concert scene, "taking it beyond being able to offer only the mainstream, high-profile, international artists to our audiences". Flash organised Coldplay's appearance in the grounds of the Emirates Palace in March before a 15,000 sell-out crowd. A marketing director for the company said: "You're probably looking at a similar size to the Coldplay show. We're basically hoping for the same scale and it should be a similar success." mkwong@thenational.ae
Itcan profile
Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani
Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India
Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce
Size: 70 employees
Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch
Funding: Self-funded to date
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
'Ashkal'
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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
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The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Company%20Profile
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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
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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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.
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.
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
SPECS
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