Arena Market: UAE

The UAE’s status as an expat safe haven and dependable touring stop is fundamentally less secure now than it was before late February, when Abu Dhabi and Dubai were first hit by missile and drone airstrikes from Iran amid the early days of the US–Israeli war on Iran.

Until this year’s disruption, it was generally assumed that the UAE’s main challenge was to fight off the booking power of Saudi Arabia and maintain its spot in the address books of international agents, amid a notable increase in artist traffic to the Middle East.

But in the geopolitically sensitive global live music business, things can change fast, and there are now few certainties in a Middle East that had lately become one of the world’s more premium…