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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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Grammy-winning R&B and soul star D’Angelo dies after ‘prolonged battle with cancer’

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Grammy-winning R&B and soul star D'Angelo dies after 'prolonged battle with cancer'

Grammy-award winning R&B and soul singer D’Angelo has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer, his family has said.

He died on Tuesday, leaving behind a “legacy of extraordinarily moving music” following a “prolonged and courageous battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement.

The prominent musician, born Michael D’Angelo Archer, was 51 years old.

A family statement said: “We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.

“We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, but invite you all join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left for the world.”

The singer rose to prominence in the 1990s with his first album, Brown Sugar.

The track “Lady” from that album reached No. 10 in March 1996 and remained on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 20 weeks.

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Eurovision emergency vote on Israel’s inclusion is called off

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Eurovision emergency vote on Israel's inclusion is called off

An emergency vote on Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has been called off following developments in the Middle East, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has said.

Contest organisers had scheduled “an extraordinary meeting of [its] general assembly to be held online” in early November after several countries said they would no longer take part in Eurovision if Israel participated.

The EBU said in a statement that following “recent developments in the Middle East” the executive board had agreed on Monday that there should be an in-person discussion among members “on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026”.

It said the matter had now been added to the agenda of its winter general assembly, which will take place in December.

Further details about the session would be shared with EBU members in the coming weeks, it added.

It is not clear if a vote will still take place at a later date.

Austria is hosting next year’s show in Vienna. The country’s national broadcaster, ORF, told Reuters news agency it welcomed the EBU’s decision.

Sky News has contacted Israeli broadcaster KAN for comment.

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Will Eurovision boycott Israel?

Faced with controversy over the conflict in Gaza, Eurovision – which labels itself a non-political event – had said member countries would vote on whether Israel should or shouldn’t take part.

Slovenia and broadcasters from Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Iceland had all issued statements saying if Israel was allowed to enter, they’d consider boycotting the contest.

As one of the “Big Five” backers of Eurovision, Spain’s decision to leave the competition would have a significant financial impact on the event – which is the world’s largest live singing competition.

In September, a letter from EBU president Delphine Ernotte Cunci, said “given that the union has never faced a divisive situation like this before” the board agreed it “merited a broader democratic basis for a decision”.

Read more:
Why Eurovision vote on Israel might not stop boycott
Could Eurovision boycott lead to a competition crisis?

On Monday, Palestinian militant group Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza, and Israel released busloads of Palestinian detainees, under a ceasefire deal aimed at bringing an end to the two-year war in the Middle East.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation, with airstrikes and ground assaults devastating much of the enclave and killing more than 67,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants but it says around half of those killed were women and children.

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Diane Keaton, star of Annie Hall and The Godfather, has died aged 79 – US media reports

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Diane Keaton, star of Annie Hall and The Godfather, has died aged 79 - US media reports

Actress Diane Keaton, who starred in films including The Godfather and Annie Hall, has died, reports have said.

People reported her death at the age of 79, citing a family spokesperson.

The magazine said she died in California with loved ones but no other details were immediately available, and representatives for Keaton did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Associated Press news agency.

Keaton’s death was also reported by the New York Times newspaper which said it has spoken to Dori Roth, who produced a number of Keaton’s most recent films, who confirmed she had died but did not provide any details about the circumstances.

With a long career, across a series of movies that are regarded as some of the best ever made, Keaton was widely admired.

She was awarded an Oscar, a BAFTA and two Golden Globe Awards, and was also nominated for two Emmys, and a Tony, as well as picking up a series of other Academy Award and BAFTA nominations.

Diane Keaton, with her best actress Oscar for 'Annie Hall' in 1978. Pic: AP
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Diane Keaton, with her best actress Oscar for ‘Annie Hall’ in 1978. Pic: AP

Her best actress Oscar was for the Woody Allen film Annie Hall, which is said to be loosely based on her life.

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She appeared in several other Allen projects, including Manhattan, as well as all three Godfather movies, in which she played Kay, the wife and then ex-wife of Marlon Brando’s son Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, opposite him as he descends into a life of crime and replaces his father in the family’s mafia empire.

‘Brilliant, beautiful’

The unexpected news was met with shock around the world.

Her First Wives Club co-star Bette Midler wrote on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me.

“She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was … oh, la, lala!”

Actor Ben Stiller paid tribute on X, writing: “Diane Keaton. One of the greatest film actors ever. An icon of style, humor and comedy. Brilliant. What a person.”

Keaton was the kind of actor who helped make films iconic and timeless, from her “La-dee-da, la-dee-da” phrasing as Annie Hall, bedecked in the iconic necktie, bowler hat, vest and khakis, to her heartbreaking turn as Kay Adams, the woman unfortunate enough to join the Corleone family.

Keaton also frequently worked with Nancy Meyers, starting with 1987’s Baby Boom.

Their other films together included 1991’s Father of the Bride and its 1995 sequel, as well as 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give.

In 1996 she starred opposite Goldie Hawn and Midler in The First Wives Club, about three women whose husbands had left them for younger women.

More recently she collaborated with Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen on the Book Club films.

Keaton never married. She adopted a daughter, Dexter, in 1996 and a son, Duke, four years later.

Sky News has contacted Keaton’s agent for a comment.

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