From left: Rod Stewart, Lionel Richie and Enrique Iglesias have all been confirmed for the Winter at Tantora festival line up in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AP, Getty Images
From left: Rod Stewart, Lionel Richie and Enrique Iglesias have all been confirmed for the Winter at Tantora festival line up in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AP, Getty Images
From left: Rod Stewart, Lionel Richie and Enrique Iglesias have all been confirmed for the Winter at Tantora festival line up in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AP, Getty Images
From left: Rod Stewart, Lionel Richie and Enrique Iglesias have all been confirmed for the Winter at Tantora festival line up in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AP, Getty Images

Rod Stewart, Lionel Richie and Enrique Iglesias are heading to Saudi Arabia


Farah Andrews
  • English
  • Arabic

The Winter at Tantora festival had teased a Lionel Richie concert later this year, but it has now been confirmed that he is heading to Saudi Arabia in February 2020. He will be joined on the Al Ula line-up by Rod Stewart, who is performing in January, and Enrique Iglesias in February.

Winter at Tantora has confirmed the three international acts on its website. Scottish singer Rod Stewart is set to perform at Al Ula between January 23 to 25, 2020; Spanish singer / songwriter, Enrique Iglesias, will be taking to the stage between February 20 to 22; and Lionel Richie will be performing in the kingdom between February 26 to 29.

All of the acts seem to be heading to the kingdom for a number of days.

They are not the only stars on the bill. Egyptian composer, pianist and conductor Omar Khairat is heading back to to Winter at Tantora once again, performing between December 26 to 28, 2019. Greek composer Yanni is also set to perform, scheduled between February 6 to 8, 2020.

There are still some spaces on the bill to be filled as the Winter at Tantora festival listings still has five "To be revealed soon" posts, in the performances and events listings.

Winter at Tantora festival

The Winter at Tantora season runs from Thursday, December 19, 2019 until Saturday, March 7, 2020, and celebrates "nature, heritage and art at Al Ula".

Al Ula, an area north of the Arabian Peninsula, is home to a number of stunning archaeological wonders. Courtesy Winter at Tantora
Al Ula, an area north of the Arabian Peninsula, is home to a number of stunning archaeological wonders. Courtesy Winter at Tantora

The archaeological heritage site of Al Ula is set to open officially to the public in October 2020, but the Winter at Tantora festival aims to give visitors a "sneak peek of this amazing destination".

Guests will also be able to witness the Al Ula Balloon Festival from January 2 to 11, 2020 and the Fursan Horse Race on February 1, 2020.

From February 13 to 15, 2020, the traditional folklore Jameel Buthainah will be performed by dance group, Caracalla.​

It is a significant time for tourism in the kingdom, as it is expected that by the end of 2019, Saudi Arabia will be open to international tourists.

Earlier this year, Saudi hosted the Jeddah Season, a cultural festival that attracted international acts to perform in the kingdom.

Everyone from Janet Jackson and 50 Cent to Liam Payne, DJs Martin Garrix and Marshmellow and K-pop boy band Super Junior performed in Jeddah this summer.

Next month, K-pop megastars BTS are set to perform in Riyadh's King Fahd International Stadium, on Friday, October 11.

Teams

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.

Turkish Ladies

Various artists, Sony Music Turkey 

Match info

Costa Rica 0

Serbia 1
Kolarov (56')

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

Get Out

Director: Jordan Peele

Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford

Four stars

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Day 1 at Mount Maunganui

England 241-4

Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28

New Zealand 

Yet to bat

Hydrogen: Market potential

Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.

"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.

Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.

The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.

If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

The Birkin bag is made by Hermès. 
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.

PROFILE OF CURE.FIT

Started: July 2016

Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori

Based: Bangalore, India

Sector: Health & wellness

Size: 500 employees

Investment: $250 million

Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)

Results

2pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: Mouheeb, Tom Marquand (jockey), Nicholas Bachalard (trainer)

2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Honourable Justice, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer

3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dark Silver, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash

4pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Dark Of Night. Antonio Fresu, Al Muhairi.

4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Habah, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

PROFILE

Name: Enhance Fitness 

Year started: 2018 

Based: UAE 

Employees: 200 

Amount raised: $3m 

Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors 

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona

RESULTS

6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Brraq, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)

7.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Taamol, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Eqtiraan, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

8.15pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Soft Whisper, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

9.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.

9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Etisalat, Sando Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

New Zealand 57-0 South Africa

Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett