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Amr Diab Celebrates Qatar’s World Cup with Fans in Live Concert

View of the main ticket center for Qatar's FIFA football World Cup, with a mural of its mascot "La'eeb", in the capital Doha on October 16, 2022. Credit: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP
View of the main ticket center for Qatar's FIFA football World Cup, with a mural of its mascot "La'eeb", in the capital Doha on October 16, 2022. Credit: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP
    Cairo: Mahmoud al-Rifai
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Amr Diab Celebrates Qatar’s World Cup with Fans in Live Concert

View of the main ticket center for Qatar's FIFA football World Cup, with a mural of its mascot "La'eeb", in the capital Doha on October 16, 2022. Credit: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP
View of the main ticket center for Qatar's FIFA football World Cup, with a mural of its mascot "La'eeb", in the capital Doha on October 16, 2022. Credit: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP

Egyptian star Amr Diab performed a huge concert in Qatar’s Lusail Shooting Complex, on the sidelines of the World Cup that runs until December 18.

The concert was attended by a big number of Egyptians and Arabs, including Saudis, Tunisians, and Moroccans, who came to Qatar to attend the world cup.

Amr Diab took the stage with his song “Ya Ana Ya Laa”, and performed other popular hits including “Amarein”, “Leily Nhari”, and “Tamalli Maak”.

The Egyptian singer congratulated the Saudi fans attending his concert on the historic triumph of their national football team against Argentina (2-0), wishing them more victory in their games against Poland and Mexico.

Diab has also congratulated Saudi Arabia on Twitter, writing “Congratulation to the heroes of Saudi Arabia,” and shared a photo featuring some on the team’s best players including Mohammed Alowais and Salem Aldawsari.

During the game, Amr Diab took a picture with FIFA executives including Hany Abo Rida, member of the FIFA Council and former president of Egyptian Football Association, Fatma Samoura, secretary-general of FIFA, and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, president of Qatar Football Association.

Diab has recently recorded his new songs which will be released in early 2023. Poet and composer Ayman Bahgat Kamar told Asharq Al-Awsat that he will be collaborating with Amr Diab and composers Walid Saad and Aziz al-Safei in three new songs.

Amr Diab is also set to take part in the MDLBEAST Festival in Riyadh on December 2, with Salvatore Ganacci, a Bosnian-Swedish D.J. and CD producer. The festival will also host other Arab artists including Saudi Rabeh Sager, Egyptian Mohamed Hamaki and Mohammed Ramadan, as well as Nancy Ajram and Miriam Fares from Lebanon.

Amr Diab recently visited the Merwas Studios in Saudi Arabia, and met with Adviser Turki Al-Sheikh, chairman of General Authority for Entertainment.

Nada Al-Tuwaijri, CEO of Merwas, revealed some details about the meeting, noting that “the Egyptian star promised her to record the songs of his new album in Merwas Studios.”

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No, Spain Isn't Banning Tourists. Here’s What to Know.

People march during a mass demonstration against over tourism, which affects the local population with inaccessible housing, among other things, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Velasco Almendral, file)
People march during a mass demonstration against over tourism, which affects the local population with inaccessible housing, among other things, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Velasco Almendral, file)
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No, Spain Isn't Banning Tourists. Here’s What to Know.

People march during a mass demonstration against over tourism, which affects the local population with inaccessible housing, among other things, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Velasco Almendral, file)
People march during a mass demonstration against over tourism, which affects the local population with inaccessible housing, among other things, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Velasco Almendral, file)

Spain attracted a record 94 million tourists last year, making the Southern European nation famous for its Mediterranean coastline, sweeping landscapes and historic cities among the most visited countries on earth.

The surge in visitors has stoked complaints at times from some Spaniards about “overtourism, ” with concerns about overcrowding, water use and particularly the availability and affordability of housing, The AP reported.

Spain's government has started listening to demands for more regulation, particularly around housing in Spain's big cities, where rising home and rental prices have become a key concern for voters. Earlier this month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez introduced a 12-part plan to tackle the housing crisis, with measures aimed at bringing stricter regulations to short-term rentals that mainly cater to tourists.

But that doesn't mean Spain is putting the brakes on tourism, an industry that accounts for about 12% of its GDP.

Here's what you should know before planning a visit:

Is Spain restricting tourists? No, but some cities have started to regulate tourism rental properties.

Malaga, an Andalusian port city on the southern Mediterranean coast of Spain, will prohibit new rental properties in 43 neighborhoods of the city where those rentals exceed 8% of the residential stock. The policy went into effect earlier this month and will be tested for three years.

Meanwhile, Barcelona plans to close down all of its 10,000 apartments licensed as short-term rentals in the coming years to safeguard the housing supply for full-time residents. The Mediterranean city known for its beaches, art and surrealist architecture announced last year that it would not renew any new tourism apartment licenses after they expire in 2028.

Can tourists still book hotels and other accommodation? Yes. Tourists can book hotel stays and short-term apartment-style rentals just about anywhere in Spain.

What's prompting Spain to take these measures? Spain is in the throes of a growing housing affordability problem. Skyrocketing rents are particularly acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where incomes have failed to keep up, especially for young people. Housing prices are also steadily rising, especially in cities and coastal areas.

Short-term contracts mainly offered for tourists are seen as driving up rental costs for locals, too.

What else should visitors know before booking travel? Visitors renting a car in Spain or booking hotel stays will also have to file more paperwork thanks to a new law that requires hotel owners and car rental companies to send personal information to the government for national security reasons.

Passport details, home addresses and payment information used by travelers above 14 are among the details that will be collected.