Yas Island’s du Arena is now flying the flag for Etihad…

Flash Entertainment’s du Arena has helped shape a lot of live music forever memories over the years.

It’s been the staging point for some incredible Yasalam F1 Aftr Party moments; it’s hosted rap, pop and R&B royalty in the form Eminem, Rihanna, Jay-Z, J Cole, Beyonce, Gucci Mane, The Weeknd and Post Malone; rock legends Muse, Guns N Roses, Aerosmith, Linkin Park, The Killers and The Who have all turned it up to 11 on the venue’s hallowed stage; and back in 2019, His Holiness Pope Francis graced the open air auditorium for a live mass.

Giving those feels some real quantitative value — the 40,000 capacity arena has welcomed over 1.5million starry-eyed fans since 2009.

We can safely assume then, if such an august element of the capital’s entertainment scene were to change its name, it would need to be something worthy, something of fitting prestige.

Curtain drop. Following a big sponsorship deal, the Middle East’s largest outdoor venue has now been renamed: Etihad Park. Although the keen-eyed amongst you will have noticed that we gave that away in the title of this article. And the subheading. At least you can’t accuse us of clickbait.

Now married to, and taking the name of, the UAE’s national carrier, Etihad — we’re ready to jet off into a time when live concerts can return.

With the launch of Yas Bay’s Etihad Arean in January of this year, that makes two huge concert venues on Yas Island now bearing Etihad’s name.

Does any of this mean we’re likely to see a return to live concerts in Abu Dhabi any time soon..?

It certainly feels close.

This January in front of reduced capacity crowd at Etihad Arena, Dustin Poirier beat Conor McGregor to retain his Lightweight title in the headline clash of UFC257.

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That same venue is hosting ‘An Evening with Michael McIntyre’ in July of this year.

And back in March of this year the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT), was already setting out the framework for a return to live events.

The timing of the sponsorship and name change must be important too, why now? Why make the change if there’s nothing to stage?

We predict announcements are coming soon.

Etihad Park is on Yas Island. flashentertainment.com

Images: What’s On Archive