Beyoncé paid $24m for popping up in Dubai
When times are hard, a few earnings on the side can be a great help; even, it seems, if you are one of the world’s richest pop stars (Andrew Ellson writes).
Beyoncé, 41, is understood to have been paid $24 million for a one-off concert in Dubai to celebrate the opening of a new hotel. The fee amounts to nearly £250,000 for every minute she performed.
The US superstar put on an 85-minute set for the opening of Atlantis The Royal, which has been billed as the world’s most ultraluxury resort.
She performed to an invitation-only guest list of 1,500 celebrities, influencers and journalists, including Kendall Jenner, Michelle Keegan, Liam Payne and Jodie Kidd.
The guests at the all expenses-paid event were treated to a weekend of “epicurean feastsand beachside indulgences” and received free business-class flights and accommodation at the hotel.
Some of Beyoncé’s fans back home were less impressed, criticising the star’s decision to perform in Dubai, where homosexuality is illegal.
Many noted that her 19-song set did not contain any songs from her most recent album, Renaissance, which is a tribute to LGBT pioneers of dance music.
Peter Tatchell, the LGBT rights campaigner who was stopped by police in October while protesting in Qatar before the World Cup, said: “I love Beyoncé ’s music but her performance in a dictatorship like Dubai was a huge mistake.
“Ditching her own progressive values, she put a money-grabbing pay cheque before human rights. On top of that, her music set excluded all tracks from her 2022 Renaissance album, which was a homage to queer black dance pioneers. It looks like she did this toappease Dubai’s homophobic regime, which has the death penalty for homosexuality. Like many of her LGBT fans, I feel betrayed and angry. Her liberal reputation has taken a hard knock.”
There was also support from some members of the gay community who said it was “inspiring” and “hopeful” to see a gay icon perform in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
In 2021 Justin Bieber ignored calls for a boycott to perform in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah; while in 2014 Lady Gaga put on a show in Dubai. In 2008 Mariah Carey received $1 million to perform for Colonel Gaddafi, the despotic leader of Libya. She later apologised, claiming she did not know who he was.
Last year Rolling Stone magazine reported that Billie Eilish turned down a seven-figure sum for a Middle Eastern gig.
Beyoncé’s fee was first reported on TMZ, the American showbiz website. Her representatives were approached for comment.
Beyoncé, 41, is understood to have been paid $24 million for a one-off concert in Dubai to celebrate the opening of a new hotel. The fee amounts to nearly £250,000 for every minute she performed.
The US superstar put on an 85-minute set for the opening of Atlantis The Royal, which has been billed as the world’s most ultraluxury resort.
She performed to an invitation-only guest list of 1,500 celebrities, influencers and journalists, including Kendall Jenner, Michelle Keegan, Liam Payne and Jodie Kidd.
The guests at the all expenses-paid event were treated to a weekend of “epicurean feastsand beachside indulgences” and received free business-class flights and accommodation at the hotel.
Some of Beyoncé’s fans back home were less impressed, criticising the star’s decision to perform in Dubai, where homosexuality is illegal.
Many noted that her 19-song set did not contain any songs from her most recent album, Renaissance, which is a tribute to LGBT pioneers of dance music.
Peter Tatchell, the LGBT rights campaigner who was stopped by police in October while protesting in Qatar before the World Cup, said: “I love Beyoncé ’s music but her performance in a dictatorship like Dubai was a huge mistake.
“Ditching her own progressive values, she put a money-grabbing pay cheque before human rights. On top of that, her music set excluded all tracks from her 2022 Renaissance album, which was a homage to queer black dance pioneers. It looks like she did this toappease Dubai’s homophobic regime, which has the death penalty for homosexuality. Like many of her LGBT fans, I feel betrayed and angry. Her liberal reputation has taken a hard knock.”
There was also support from some members of the gay community who said it was “inspiring” and “hopeful” to see a gay icon perform in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
In 2021 Justin Bieber ignored calls for a boycott to perform in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah; while in 2014 Lady Gaga put on a show in Dubai. In 2008 Mariah Carey received $1 million to perform for Colonel Gaddafi, the despotic leader of Libya. She later apologised, claiming she did not know who he was.
Last year Rolling Stone magazine reported that Billie Eilish turned down a seven-figure sum for a Middle Eastern gig.
Beyoncé’s fee was first reported on TMZ, the American showbiz website. Her representatives were approached for comment.