Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine says he can't wait for the band's upcoming show in Egypt. Getty Images
Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine says he can't wait for the band's upcoming show in Egypt. Getty Images
Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine says he can't wait for the band's upcoming show in Egypt. Getty Images
Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine says he can't wait for the band's upcoming show in Egypt. Getty Images

Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine on performing at Giza Pyramids in Egypt


Saeed Saeed
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Adam Levine revealed his thoughts about Maroon 5's coming performance at the Giza Pyramids in Egypt on May 3.

The frontman of the hit group appeared on The Ellen Show on Thursday and spoke about how the band is excited to be one of the rare artists chosen to perform at the historical site.

"It's not one of the things that you think of as a musician that is feasible or possible because it seems so out of this world to do it," he said. "It's also rarefied air in that they don't just let anyone do it.”

Levine says he is aware of some of the big groups who performed there in the past, including Pink Floyd in 1973 as well as a 2019 show by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. "This is one of those crazy bucket list things," he said. "It won't feel real until we are actually there.”

The show is the beginning of Maroon 5's Middle East tour, which includes shows at Abu Dhabi's Etihad Arena on May 6 and a Tel Aviv concert in Israel on May 9.

The Grammy award-winning group previously played in Cairo in 2011, when they took to the stage at the Gezira Youth Centre in Zamalek.

Formed in 2002, Maroon 5 have been a mainstay in the charts courtesy of singles such as This Love, Harder to Breathe and Moves Like Jagger, showcasing a hotchpotch of influences ranging from disco and funk to rock.

In a previous interview with The National, Levine said he was surprised at the band's consistent success.

"It has been more peaks than valleys.

“I mean, I was very cocky and I was too confident when I was young that we would be successful, but where we are now is so far beyond what I thought would happen that I am very humbled by that. I am still constantly in shock."

Tickets to Maroon 5's concert in Egypt start from 2,300 Egyptian pounds ($124) from Ticketmarche.com

Scroll through the gallery below for the top 10 concerts to see in the UAE after Ramadan

Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Company profile

Name:​ One Good Thing ​

Founders:​ Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke​

Based in:​ Dubai​​ 

Sector:​ e-commerce​

Size: 5​ employees

Stage: ​Looking for seed funding

Investors:​ ​Self-funded and seeking external investors

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Updated: April 29, 2022, 3:03 PM