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Beyonce has taken to the stage for her first performance since 2018 at a private hotel launch event in Dubai – and was joined by her daughter Blue Ivy at one point for a duet.

The 41-year-old US star put on a 90-minute set for the concert at the unveiling of Atlantis The Royal, billed as the world’s most ultra-luxury resort.

Beyonce emerged in front of a 1,500-strong crowd in a yellow sequinned gown with a sculptural feathered cape, opening with her cover of Etta James’s At Last.

She also sang some of her biggest hits including Crazy In Love, Naughty Girl, Halo and XO, culminating with a rendition of Drink In Love as fireworks lit up the sky.

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Beyonce emerged on stage in a yellow sequinned gown

Eleven-year-old Blue Ivy gave the audience a surprise when she joined her superstar mother for a duet on stage on Brown Skin Girl from the 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift.

Members of the crowd were told to put their phones in pouches and were reportedly reprimanded by security if they were spotted taking photos.

The headline concert leaned heavily on songs rarely or never before performed live, with the singer opting not to debut any tracks from her latest album Renaissance, which is nominated for two Grammys.

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Addressing the excited audience, Beyonce said: “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.

“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.”

The Destiny’s Child star later changed into a red and gold bejewelled bodysuit with a voluminous train before completing a third costume change with a red corseted minidress with matching stockings and gloves.

She was reported to have been paid $24m (£19.4m) for the exclusive concert, attended by celebrities including Kendall Jenner, Liam Payne, Ronan Keating, Rochelle and Marvin Humes and British Vogue editor Edward Enninful.

“We’ve given her creative control. This is her art – we want her to express her art in her way,” managing director Tim Kelly said.

“I can’t express to you enough the level of professionalism and discipline with the rehearsals.

“From the moment she arrived last week, she was on the stage, rehearsing and performing, and she’s developing and curating a 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.”

Mr Kelly added it “took a long time” to secure the global pop star for the launch, but said it “came together rather quickly”.

He said: “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.”

Beyonce has not headlined a live show in more than four years, the last being the Global Citizen Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa, in December 2018.

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Olivier Awards: US actor says ‘special relationship firmly intact’ despite Trump’s tariffs

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Olivier Awards: US actor says 'special relationship firmly intact' despite Trump's tariffs

British star Lesley Manville and American actor John Lithgow have won the acting categories at this year’s Olivier Awards, which recognise excellence in London theatre.

Lithgow, 79, played Roald Dahl in Giant, which is about the children’s author wondering whether to make a public apology.

While accepting his award he appeared to reference the current controversy over Donald Trump’s second term as US president.

The Conclave star quipped: “It’s not always easy to welcome an American into your midst, and at this particular moment, it’s probably a little more complicated than usual.”

He also told the audience at the Royal Albert Hall that the “special relationship is still firmly intact”, despite Mr Trump imposing tariffs on British exports to the US.

His co-star, English actor Elliot Levey, took best actor in a supporting role.

Giant was also named best new play.

Lesley Manville was best actress. Pic: PA
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Lesley Manville was best actress. Pic: PA

Manville, 69, was honoured for her performance in the Greek tragedy Oedipus at the Wyndham’s Theatre.

She said she felt “emotional” while accepting her statuette because it was a production she had “felt very strongly about being” in.

Manville, who played Princess Margaret in The Crown, added that she was taking an early flight to Dublin on Monday to do some filming, and would not be getting “much sleep tonight”.

Romola Garai was best actress in a supporting role. Pic: PA
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Romola Garai was best actress in a supporting role. Pic: PA

Best actress in a supporting role went to Romola Garai for her performance in The Years, based on a memoir by French writer Annie Ernaux.

Garai, whose film credits include Scoop and Atonement, was nominated in the same category for Giant.

Elliot Levey was best actor in a supporting role. Pic: PA
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Elliot Levey was best actor in a supporting role. Pic: PA

Dame Imelda Staunton won a fifth Olivier, for best actress in a musical for the London revival of classic musical Hello, Dolly!

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button won best new musical, a best actor musical award for Lark Rise To Candleford actor John Dagleish, and the outstanding musical contribution award.

The annual event was co-hosted by British singer Beverley Knight and Pose star Billy Porter.

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Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia talked about modern masculinity before Gen Z was born 

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Pete Townshend's Quadrophenia talked about modern masculinity before Gen Z was born 

Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.

The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.

As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.

Pete Townshend
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Pete Townshend

“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.

“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”

If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.

But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.

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Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation. 

Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.

He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.

“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”

Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
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Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson

This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.

For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.

Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
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Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet

“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.

“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”

Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.

“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.

“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”

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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.

“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.

Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.

It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.

Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.

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Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

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Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.

The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.

The charges relate to four women.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.

Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.

He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.

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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges

The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.

Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.

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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.

He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.

“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

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