JENNIFER LOPEZ TO LIGHT UP ETIHAD ARENA WITH ‘UP ALL NIGHT: LIVE IN 2025'
By Editor_wr On Apr 15, 2025
Jennifer Lopez is returning to the UAE on Tuesday 29 July at Etihad Arena on Yas Island as part of her UP ALL NIGHT: LIVE tour, presented by Ethara.
The show will be the global star's only performance in the Middle East as part of her limited run tour.
Fans can expect electrifying performances of her chart-topping hits from across her legendary career. Tickets to her Saadiyat Nights show in February sold out in minutes. Tickets are available via Ethara.com, Etihadarena.ae and ticketmaster.ae,
As one of the world's biggest stars, Jlo has been a pioneer in multiple industries as an actress, producer and signer. As the only female artist to top both the music and film charts simultaneously, Lopez has amassed over $3 billion in global box office earnings, sold more than 80 million records, and amassed billions of streams and views across her music and music videos.
Commenting on the announcement, David Powell, Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer at Ethara said 'We present the most thrilling events in the region and are delighted to be able to bring the iconic Jennifer Lopez back to perform in Abu Dhabi. The UP ALL NIGHT show will be one of the unmissable moments of the summer program on Yas Island and we look forward to welcoming her fans to the iconic Etihad Arena.'
Tickets are now available on ethara.com, etihadarena.ae and ticktmaster.ae JENNIFER LOPEZ TO LIGHT UP ETIHAD ARENA WITH 'UP ALL NIGHT: LIVE IN 2025'
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It was at this point – hands raised, lyrics mouthed back in unison – that Mamma Mia! reminded me why it endures. The production's staying power lies in its ability to gather strangers and turn them, at least temporarily, into a community. Is it a sign of theatre culture taking root in the UAE? I'm excited even just by the idea of it.
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3 days ago
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Mamma Mia! brings sequins, nostalgia and the power of community to Abu Dhabi
There's a visible shift that spreads across an audience during Mamma Mia! – one that goes from shy engagement to full-bodied joy, as if muscle memory has kicked in and everyone suddenly remembers the words to Dancing Queen. That collective response, so reliably evoked by this long-running musical, raises a deeper question: what purpose should a stage show serve once it has crossed the threshold from hit to institution? Since its West End premiere in 1999, the Abba -fuelled jukebox musical Mamma Mia! has gone from being a breakout success to a shared cultural memory. It is a show so familiar to some in the audience, that they often collectively hum the songs before the curtain even rises. The version currently playing at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, part of an international touring production, is a case study in what it means to stage something so popular and loved. The challenge does not lie in execution. 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The plot, in which a young bride named Sophie invites three of her mother Donna's former lovers to her wedding to discover who her father is, remains secondary to the soundtrack. While the dialogue is breezy and the stakes are gentle, the emotional architecture still has the potential to surprise. In this version, that potential is most visible in Steph Parry's Donna, whose rendition of The Winner Takes It All resists melodrama and leans into a more controlled devastation. It's a performance that momentarily lifts the show out of its party-dress expectations and into something more raw and grounded – a vulnerability I've always found hard to locate in Meryl Streep's otherwise formidable interpretation in the film adaptation. Also deserving of mention is Ellie Kingdon's Sophie, played with a disarming sincerity and vocal clarity that gives the character both weight and warmth. Donna's longtime friends and former bandmates, Tanya and Rosie (brought to life with magnificent flair by Sarah Earnshaw and Nicky Swift) inject the production with verve, comic precision and impeccable timing. Their presence offers a necessary counterbalance to the show's emotional currents, and their scenes together offer pure enjoyment. These are performances likely shaped by experience rather than invention, but maybe that's the point. In a play so well-known, elevation doesn't always mean transformation. For me, having seen Mamma Mia! multiple times, including when it came to Dubai in 2021, the broader production felt like it was playing too close to the template at points. There was a smoothness to the staging that, while admirable, felt cautious. Even some of the more spirited numbers, such as Voulez-Vous or Does Your Mother Know, were energetic but stopped short of fully surrendering to the moment. However, for audiences seeing it for the first time, as many in Abu Dhabi could be, the show remains a revelation. The story's optimism, the undeniable power of hearing Abba sung live – these things still have the capacity to feel fresh, especially when encountered without the weight of prior viewings. In that sense, the production is doing precisely what it needs to: making the old feel new again for someone else. I attended the opening night, and the venue was near capacity. A decade ago, such productions arrived sporadically in the UAE, often met with curiosity rather than fervent demand. But in recent years, the frequency and reception of large-scale international musicals suggest a cultural shift is underway. It seems the capital is not just importing musicals, but also nurturing an audience for them. The show's final encore, a sequinned celebration of Dancing Queen and Waterloo was a beautiful shared moment between the cast, the crowd and even this critic. It was at this point – hands raised, lyrics mouthed back in unison – that Mamma Mia! reminded me why it endures. The production's staying power lies in its ability to gather strangers and turn them, at least temporarily, into a community. Is it a sign of theatre culture taking root in the UAE? I'm excited even just by the idea of it.
