Mystery surrounds Justin Bieber UAE concert

A UAE concert, set for Dubai’s Autism Rocks Arena on May 6, was spotted on Bieber’s official website but it then disappeared a few hours later.

Justin Bieber is pictured performing at the 2016 Jingle Ball at Staples Center on Friday, December 2, 2016, in Los Angeles. Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP
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Is Justin Bieber coming to Dubai next year, or not?

Fans of the pop provocateur were left ecstatic when a UAE concert, set for Dubai’s Autism Rocks Arena on May 6, was spotted on Bieber’s official website on Tuesday evening – prompting a frenzied social media eruption.

However, just a few hours later the date mysteriously disappeared from the Canadian singer’s tour schedule.

Meanwhile no announcement ever came from a UAE promoter, and there was never any ticket details on the Bieb’s site – unlike all but one of the other global dates listed.

Last week, The National led speculation that Bieber would be making a 2017 UAE appearance, after Thomas Ovesen, the CEO of promoters 117 Live – who have programmed most concerts at the Autism Rocks Arena – was spotted at the star's London concert.

It seems likely the proposed Dubai gig could still go ahead, with Bieber’s team simply breaking the news too soon – then reigning it in before a full local PR campaign.

However, it is also possible the full terms of the performance contract have yet to be inked, and negotiations are ongoing. In the past, early unauthorised gig announcements – and even widespread rumours – have been known to derail mooted concert appearances, a complaint Glastonbury festival head Michael Eavis regularly bemoans.

Closer to home, a flurry of excitement followed the appearance of a Dubai date on vintage US boyband Backstreet Boys’ website, in 2014 – but the concert never went ahead, presumably for one of the above reasons.

If Bieber does make it to the UAE in May, the visit will come almost exactly four years since his debut appearance in the emirates, with two sell-out concerts at Dubai’s Sevens Stadium on May 4 and 5.

That visit was remembered for its bad behaviour, with Bieber two hours late on stage at both shows – prompting outrage from parents – while his reckless driving saw the star rack up six speeding fines during his brief stay in the city.

The intervening four years have seen the 22-year-old briefly step away from music, before returning with a more adult ethos for last year's fourth studio album, Purpose.

The accompanying Purpose tour began in Seattle in March, and will wrap in Toronto in September 2017 – and perhaps visit Dubai somewhere in the middle?

rgarratt@thenational.ae