Beyonce: Dubai concert with daughter Blue Ivy explained, is she on UK tour in 2023 - Atlantis hotel performance

Beyonce has performed live on stage for the first time since 2018 at a private hotel opening event in Dubai on Saturday (21 January).

Beyonce was accompanied on stage by a full band, a Middle Eastern orchestra and dancers. “There’s a Utopia of people from all over the world on this stage and we are so honoured to be here to celebrate this night with you,” she said.

“My parents are here tonight to celebrate – my mother and my father. My beautiful children are here to see me perform and my beautiful husband.”

But is the pop megastar currently on tour, or was the performance in Dubai just a one off? And what songs did she play? Here is everything you need to know about it.

What songs did she play?

Among the highlights of a 90-minute performance at the opening of Atlantis The Royal, the singer performed ‘Brown Skin Girl’ from the 2019 album ‘The Lion King: The Gift’ with her 11-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy.

The concert at the hotel - marketed as the world’s most opulent resort - began with her interpretation of ‘At Last’ by Etta James, then dazzled the 1,500-strong crowd with hits including ‘Crazy In Love’, ‘Naughty Girl’, ‘Halo’, and ‘XO’ before finishing with a performance of ‘Drunk In Love’ as fireworks lit up the night sky.

The singer decided not to debut any songs from her most recent album ‘Renaissance’ - which is up for two Grammys - during a set that leaned largely on songs that have rarely or never been performed live previously. She is rumoured to have been paid 24 million dollars (£19.4m) for the exclusive concert.

“We’ve given her creative control. This is her art – we want her to express her art in her way,” managing director Tim Kelly told the PA news agency ahead of the performance. “She’s not taking a show out of the box because she doesn’t have a show in the box. You’re going to get the full-throttle Beyonce.”

Is Beyonce on tour?

At the time of writing, it seems as if Beyonce’s Dubai performance was a one-off, and the star currently has no plans announced for a world tour.

Asked if it was difficult to secure the global pop star for the launch, Kelly said: “It took a long time, but it also came together rather quickly. It’s a circumstance of where she chooses what she wants to do. We’re honoured, we’re proud and for her to be here to do this in Dubai on this night, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“We have always expressed that this is an iconic building, and then to have the most iconic performer on the planet available today, someone who hasn’t been seen in public performing in over four years, it’s really a night of icons.”