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Your favourite band could soon be winding its way to the Middle East.
Live Nation Middle East, which has just relocated to new offices in Dubai Media City, is planning to bring a range of stars to the Emirates over the next few years.
The live events company yesterday announced a unique series of concerts entitled The Season of Stars.
The series will open at The Palladium, a new state-of-the-art theatre, on December 12 with a classical erformance by rock legend Sting in collaboration with Edin Karamazov.
The Journey and the Labyrinth will celebrate the music and lyrics of English composer John Dowland.
Elissa Murtaza, Managing Director of Live Nation Middle East, said Sting's arrival marked the start of a very exciting period of live music for the UAE.
"Every artist on our label promoting a new album will inevitably be on tour at some point and they will be coming to Dubai. The year 2009 is going to be very exciting for the city, the UAE and the region in general," she said.
Live Nation recently acquired a 65 per cent controlling stake in Mirage Promotions prompting a change of name to Live Nation Middle East.
In October 2007 Live Nation announced a new contract with Madonna and there has been fervent speculation that the "Queen of Pop" will perform in the Emirates this November.
Murtaza said: "I very much hope to see Madonna out here but we will just have to wait and see what happens. She is going on tour this year and the door is certainly open for her to perform in the UAE."
Rising expectations
Mirage Promotions produced and staged a wide number of concerts in the UAE including Santana, Aerosmith,Pink, Shakira, Destiny's Child and Diana Ross.
Mohammad Al Mulla, Director of Dubai Media City, said: "I welcome Live Nation Middle East to our community.
As the population of the UAE continues to grow people's expectations rise and they want to see the world's leading artists perform here.
"Live Nation is widely recognised for revolutionising the onstage and online music industry. We are optimistic the entry of global brands will complement the sector while adequately meeting the increasing demand for premium entertainment in the region."
Other acts performing under the Live Nation banner — and we hope, on their way to the UAE sometime soon — are Jay-Z and U2.
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