Beyoncé performs in Lebanese designer Ashi Studio's dress in South Africa

Beyoncé.

Famous enough to go by just one name, Queen Bey has a well-earned reputation for bringing her best fashion game when performing.

So when she and husband, rapper Jay Z, took to the stage as part of the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela at 100 event in Johannesburg, South Africa, we all knew we would be in for some serious costumes changes. Jay Z donned purple suits by Calvin Klein, while Beyoncé worked her way through looks by Balmain, Mary Katrantzou and Versace. However, it was one look in particular that stole the show.

Beyoncé stepped on stage in a sculpted, shocking fuchsia couture gown by Beirut designer Ashi Studio, and despite having been previously worn by actress Deepika Padukone at Cannes in May, Beyoncé’s custom-made version was still spellbinding. A frothy creation of endless layers, carved into pink, billowy folds, it came with a large ruff that stood up up and around the singer's shoulders.

Deepika Padukone wore the same Ashi Studio dress to Cannes earlier this year

Cut high in the front and extended into a long train, the outfit was drama personified, and as Beyoncé carried on with her performance (itself impressive in what was probably a 10kg gown), she showed us why she is on top of the world.

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Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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