Legendary crooner Tom Jones will headline the opening night of next year’s Dubai Jazz Festival.
The announcement comes after the British star was forced to pull out of a planned show at Abu Dhabi’s du Arena in April, following the sudden loss of his wife of 59 years, Melinda Rose Woodward, to cancer.
Jones will see in a landmark 15th anniversary of the three-night festival, when he takes to the stage at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on February 22.
The following nights will be headlined by pop royal Mariah Carey and Spanish star Enrique Iglesias, on February 23 and 24 respectively, as previously announced.
Regarded as something of a British national treasure, 76-year-old Jones first found fame five decades back, scoring hits in the 1960s with trademark anthems It’s Not Unusual, Delilah and Bond theme Thunderball.
After a period of commercial decline, the Welsh vocalist courted a successful return to the public eye with 1999’s duets album Reload, which featured guest turns from contemporary artists such as Stereophonics, Robbie Williams and Portishead.
In the same year Jones was made an OBE by the British Queen. He later received a Knighthood in 2006.
Last year saw the release of Jones’s autobiography Over the Top and Back, as well as an accompanying 41st studio album.
He last performed in the UAE in September 2013, at du Arena.
Tickets, priced from Dh275, are available from noon today via www.ticketmaster.ae.