The tour
It is the most-anticipated musical solo tour since ... well, Madonna's last record-breaking global trek with her Sticky and Sweet Tour of 2008-09.
The MDNA Tour is destined to be her biggest in terms of the production and number of performances. The Material Girl will play 84 shows this year, spread across four legs including Asia, Europe, North and South America. Since announcing the shows, more than 1.4 million tickets have been sold and an array of sold-out stadiums awaits Madonna in both Europe and America. The MDNA Tour is on track to set the record for the highest-grossing solo tour of all time, a record held by the Sticky and Sweet Tour.
The songs
No need to spoil the surprise by stating the set list from the tour opener last Thursday (due to the show's intricate choreography, Madonna rarely changes set lists), but it is fair to advise one to get acquainted with the new MDNA album as singles Give Me All Your Luvin and Girls Gone Wild feature, in addition to deeper album cuts. Of course, many classics will receive an airing, but they will surely receive a makeover as Madonna reportedly gets bored playing old songs in original form.
The costumes
Madonna's wardrobe features designs by a who's who of the fashion world, including Jean Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott and Alexander Wang. More than 700 shoes are going on the road, including designs from Prada and Miu Miu. According to the tour's costume designer Arianne Phillips, Madonna and her dancers will be busy both on stage and behind the scenes. "Madonna changes outfits seven or eight times," she told Women's Wear Daily. "The dancers change 10 to 15 times, depending on the dancer."
The venue
It is not the performance alone that is set to be revelatory. Over the past few months, the du Arena has undergone an expansion and the results will be unveiled tonight. A team of more than 150 staff have been working around the clock to lay 12,600 square metres of turf, put down 6,200 square metres of tarmac, build five new entrances in addition to adding 2,500 extra car parking spaces. By the way, this is all before the four jumbo jets were due to fly into Abu Dhabi, carrying Madonna's pyrotechnic and lightning gear, stage props and LED screens. When Madonna sets foot on stage, the venue will be using more than 7.5 megawatts of power through 35 kilometres of electricity cable; basically, enough juice to power a small village.
Water at the end of the tunnel
A 24-metre cooling tunnel has been built specifically for the show. and 44 cooling misters will spray more than 3,000 gallons of water to cool revellers down. Dress sensibly and leave the slipping and sliding to the dancers, thanks.
What to look out for
Going to work with mum may be an unappealing prospect for an 11-year-old, unless mum is a pop icon who routinely steps on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans. During Madonna's tour opener in Tel Aviv on Thursday night, her performance featured her son Rocco on stage as a dancer in one song, while in another track, he switched to backing singer. No doubt Rocco will receive a rapturous welcome if he travels to Abu Dhabi. While merchandise details for the Abu Dhabi shows have not been revealed yet, the promoters FLASH indicated T-shirts, posters and the MDNA album will be available in stalls, with prices ranging from Dh30 to Dh150. See you there!
Madonna plays tonight and tomorrow at du Arena, Yas Island. Doors open at 7pm and Madonna is set to appear on stage at 9pm. Tickets are still available for all categories for both shows and start from Dh495. For details and tickets, go to www.thinkflash.ae
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
'Peninsula'
Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Rating: 2/5
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
You might also like to read
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
If you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Chicago from Dh5,215 return including taxes.
The hotels
Recommended hotels include the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, located in an iconic skyscraper complete with a 1929 Olympic-size swimming pool from US$299 (Dh1,100) per night including taxes, and the Omni Chicago Hotel, an excellent value downtown address with elegant art deco furnishings and an excellent in-house restaurant. Rooms from US$239 (Dh877) per night including taxes.
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
September 30
South Africa v Australia
Argentina v New Zealand
October 7
South Africa v New Zealand
Argentina v Australia
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
