Beyoncé's Dubai Private Concert Leaked

On January 23, 2023, Beyoncé performed in Dubai for the grand opening of the Atlantis, a Royal Luxury Hotel. She was reportedly paid twenty-four million USD for the one-hour-long concert. This private event marked the first time Beyoncé held or performed a concert in over four years. With the appearance of lots of celebrity guests attending, like Chloe x Halle and Letitia Wright, this concert didn’t allow the use of cameras to record or take photos. 

The concert commenced with Etta James’ song, “At Last,” and followed with a sixteen-song long setlist containing some of Beyoncé’s most popular hits: “Beautiful Liar”, “Be Alive”, “Freedom", and concluded with "Drunk In Love”. Beyoncé made a total of three costume changes throughout the concert and performed alongside a dance group called the Mayyas. Accompanying the musical performance was the all-women, Dubai-based Firdaus Orchestra containing forty-eight members. 

The concert was invite only with the restriction of phones, video, and photography. However, multitudes of videos were captured of the event and spread rapidly on social media. Fans and celebrities like Chrissy Teigen and Lizzo posted about the event, either mentioning its existence or posting fragments of it. The Atlantis Royal Hotel reported their Wi-Fi connection was turned off to prevent the spread of live streaming and recording. Incidentally, a full live stream of the concert was taken and leaked on social media platforms such as Instagram. Currently, there has been no response from Beyoncé regarding the situation. On February 1, 2023, Beyoncé announced her world tour for her new Renaissance album.

By Kayla Beasley