L-R: Singers Elissa, Amr Diab and Najwa Karam are all hitting the road this summer.
L-R: Singers Elissa, Amr Diab and Najwa Karam are all hitting the road this summer.
L-R: Singers Elissa, Amr Diab and Najwa Karam are all hitting the road this summer.
L-R: Singers Elissa, Amr Diab and Najwa Karam are all hitting the road this summer.

From Najwa Karam in Saudi Arabia to Elissa in Iraq: stars plan summer concerts across the region


Saeed Saeed
  • English
  • Arabic

Najwa Karam and Majid Al Mohandis are the latest stars set to perform in Riyadh this month.

The Lebanese singer and Iraqi crooner will team up for a joint show at the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre on Friday.

And there are more shows on the way. Salem Hendy, chief executive of concert promoter Rotana Audio, said a Riyadh show by Lebanese singer Wael Kfoury will take place within a fortnight.

The news came as a response to a June 1 tweet by Turki Al Sheikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.

In a public exchange, Al Sheikh asked: "When is the Wael Kfoury's concert?" to which Hendy replied: "In two weeks, God willing." Hendy also said it will be held in Riyadh.

However, there has been no official announcement yet by Rotana Audio or Kfoury's representatives.

Raising the anticipation further is news of Elissa joining the show. The Lebanese singer's representatives told website ET bil Arabi that her performance with Kfoury is part of a wider tour of Saudi Arabia.

On the road again

The coming shows continue a resurgence of the live events sector in the kingdom. Egyptian pop star Amr Diab is also set to perform at the newly built Jeddah Super Dome on Friday, June 18.

Meanwhile, Kuwait's Nabil Shuail, Syria's Assala Nasri and Saudi crooner Mohammed Abdu performed shows in Riyadh over the weekend.

The concerts come after the General Entertainment Authority announced new safety protocols for events.

Released in May, some of the measures include requiring all those in attendance to be fully vaccinated, a 40 per cent capacity for outdoor events, social distancing of 1.5 metres and the wearing of masks.

The reopening of the Saudi Arabian market, one of the region's biggest, also represents a win for the Arabic music industry as it prepares for the summer season.

Last summer, most major regional venues remained shuttered owing to the pandemic, but artists are now preparing to hit the road again.

Elsewhere in the region, Elissa announced a concert in Erbil, Iraq, for Friday, June 25, and recent UAE Golden Visa recipient Ragheb Alama will return to Dubai Opera for two shows on Thursday and Friday, July 15 and 16.

As part of new health and safety measures recently announced by Dubai, only those who are fully vaccinated will be allowed entry to Alama's concerts.

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Read more:

From the streets of Baghdad to the US pop charts: how Iraqi producer Art Beatz aims to bring music worlds together

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Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:

Ajax 2-3 Tottenham

Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate

Final: June 1, Madrid

CREW
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Mainz 0

RB Leipzig 5 (Werner 11', 48', 75', Poulsen 23', Sabitzer 36')

Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)

Ireland (15-1):

Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy

Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour

Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)

HEY%20MERCEDES%2C%20WHAT%20CAN%20YOU%20DO%20FOR%20ME%3F
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UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (captain), Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Saqlain Haider, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Naveed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Boota, Amir Hayat, Ashfaq Ahmed

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UAE v Afghanistan, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

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Ireland v Scotland, Dubai International Stadium

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Rating: 4/5

PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

Profile of Foodics

Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani

Based: Riyadh

Sector: Software

Employees: 150

Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing

Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.

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  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Naga
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Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)

Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm