It’s Not Just Taylor Swift: Hotels in Abu Dhabi Sell Out for Coldplay

Coldplay is the latest music juggernaut to cause a tourism frenzy. Mumbai felt the effect this week when tickets went on sale for their January shows, and Abu Dhabi in the UAE was next.

Coldplay announced a show in Abu Dhabi at the start of this week for January 11, and quickly had to add two more shows. The performances, part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour, will be held at Zayed Sports City Stadium, marking the band’s only stop in the Middle East.

Hotel prices in the city were skyrocketing for those dates.

The local trade publication Hotelier Middle East highlighted how demand is outstripping supply. For January 11, a Saturday, the closest properties to the stadium (Millennium Al Rawdah Hotel, Park Rotana Abu Dhabi, and The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Canal) all have no rooms available.

One nearby hotel that does have availability is the Premier Inn Abu Dhabi Capital Center, which has rooms going for 1,148 Emirati Dirhams (around $312) per night. A room the previous weekend was just 230 Emirati Dirhams (around $63).

For Sunday, January 12, the nearby Aloft Abu Dhabi is available, with rooms for 1,665 Emirati Dirhams (around $453) up from 347 Emirati Dirhams (around $94) the previous weekend. Park Rotana has rooms for 974 Emirati Dirhams (around $265), up from 650 Emirati Dirhams (around $177).

Performers in the UAE

The UAE continues to try to pull in big names like Coldplay to fill its arenas. Post Malone performed in Abu Dhabi two years ago to much success; Kasabian perform in Dubai next month, and Lionel Richie is set to perform at the New Year’s Eve party at Atlantis, The Palm.

In the past, artists have pulled out of performances at the last minute in the Middle East, citing human rights issues. Macklemore pulled out of his October show in Dubai last month. In 2019, Nicki Minaj canceled her concert in Saudi Arabia a week before it was set to take place.

Beyonce performed a private concert during the opening of Atlantis, The Royal in 2023. The singer was reportedly paid $24 million for her performance in Dubai, which British newspaper The Guardian called “an affront to LGBTQ+ fans [and] workers’ rights in the UAE.”

Eyeing Taylor Swift

In May, the CEO of Saudi Tourism Authority said the country wants to get mega-star Taylor Swift to perform, but that it would require the entire region to collaborate.

“If we [the GCC] want the Taylor Swifts of the world, we can do it if we collaborate and get an Arabian tour [finalized],” said Fahd Hamidaddin during Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai.

Hamidaddin was on a panel discussing the rollout of the region’s “GCC zone” visa – a single travel permit akin to the Schengen zone that will allow travelers across Saudi, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.

Swift’s Eras Tour is ongoing until the winter with 150+ shows on five continents. She does not have any stops in the GCC, despite Saudi and the UAE investing heavily in their events infrastructure.