Some select tickets for this week's Coldplay concerts in Abu Dhabi are still available to buy online, The National has discovered.
On Ticketmaster, some select tickets are seemingly still available for the four shows, which take place on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday at Zayed Sports City Stadium.
On Wednesday morning, The National attempted to look for tickets for Thursday’s gig. There was no queue and we were able to get through to the purchasing stage with two lower restricted-view seats available for Dh1,529. We also tried again with reserved seating and were able to get a single ticket for Dh764.50.
Concertgoers will receive their tickets 72 hours in advance, so those heading to the show on Thursday will have had tickets available from 8pm on Monday.
With such high anticipation for the gigs, many people who have attempted to purchase tickets from third-party sites or off of social media have fallen to scams.
Coldplay’s Abu Dhabi concerts are strictly digital events, with all tickets accessible only via the Ticketmaster app or website. They are non-transferable through third-party sites, meaning Ticketmaster is the best bet for getting to one of the four shows.
Fans were in long online queues to score tickets to the highly coveted Music of the Spheres showcase when they originally went on sale in September, and many were left disappointed.
Those lucky enough to get infinity tickets, priced at just Dh74 and providing a random location in any section across the venue – regardless of their original price – cannot be resold. They must also be picked up at the venue on the day of the event.
Demand for the show has been high. Some Coldplay fans who were intent on securing tickets but missed out on the original sale were able to get their hands on them via Yas Island's Coldplay Packages. These deals included a minimum three-night stay in a hotel, plus tickets for the performance on either Sunday or Tuesday evening.
Hotels on Yas Island, including Yas Plaza and Hilton Abu Dhabi at Yas Bay, were part of the deal, as well as several off-island properties, including those on Saadiyat Island. Rates started from Dh3,834 for two adults at Crowne Plaza Yas Island. Top-end packages included a stay at Mandarin Oriental Emirates Palace, where the three-night package cost Dh18,883 for two adults and two concert tickets.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
