Kiss will bring the year to a close in Dubai with a New Year’s Eve concert of epic proportions.
The aptly named KISS 2020 Goodbye show will kick off the band's farewell tour at 9pm, UTC, on December 31. By then, it will be 296 days since Demon, Starchild, Spaceman and Catman performed live.
"Get ready to #KISS2020Goodbye and bring the music back as we ring in 2021 in true Kiss fashion,” the 1970s rockers posted on their official Instagram account, alongside a video promoting the show.
Presented by Landmarks Live and dubbed the "live virtual event of the year", the concert will be streamed from Atlantis, The Palm.
A 250-foot stage will be covered by 50 4K cameras offering 360 degree views. The accompanying pyrotechnics show will, the band hopes, set a new Guinness World Record.
KISS 2020 Goodbye will be the biggest production in Kiss's history – quite the feat given the band's 47-year run and well-documented penchant for spectacle.
"The best way to shut everybody up and get everybody to enjoy life right now is to make a big resounding noise and shake the heavens with some pyro," bassist Gene Simmons told Rolling Stone.
We don't have to reinvent the wheel; we invented it and it runs real well
Frontman Paul Stanley added: “For us, size matters. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel; we invented it and it runs real well. We’re just making sure it’s on a scale and a size that does justice not only to the situation we’re in, but that it makes the people watching at home feel like they’re a part of it.”
The event represents a sizeable investment, show director Dan Catullo told Rolling Stone. The pyrotechnics alone will cost almost $1 million, while Covid-19 measures put in place to ensure the safety of the event's 400-strong crew will total a further $750,000.
The crew will be divided into teams of 25, with members required to remain within their pod groups. Each crew worker will wear a microchipped wristband to help with contact tracing and workers will undergo an estimated 6,000 Covid-19 tests over a 13-day period.
Band members Simmons and Stanley have both been vocal online about the importance of socially distancing and wearing masks in recent months, so strict safety precautions were essential.
While most of the viewers will enjoy the show from the safety of their homes, a few thousand audience members will be able to take in the action live, from the balconies of their rooms at Atlantis, The Palm. The hotel has confirmed that packages for hotel guests will go on sale on Sunday, November 22.
Tickets for the livestream event are available now from www.kissonline.com/nye-2020.
Standard livestream tickets are available for $39.99, while livestream deluxe access, which includes unlimited replays over a 72-hour period, are going for $49.99.
There are also a series of exclusive and limited edition VIP packages.
The Gold VIP Package includes 30 days unlimited live streaming of the show and eight additional limited edition items.
The Platinum VIP Package includes 14 additional limited edition items, including a collectible numbered Kiss 2020 Goodbye engraved metal ticket.
Catullo also revealed that this will be the first of 10 shows that Landmarks will put on in Dubai.
“What a way to put an end to a terrible year and begin a new one,” noted @lynott_FTP_Bass on Twitter, voicing the sentiments of many.
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.”
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
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Aston Villa 0
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Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
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Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
