Fans queue to enter a Spotify pop-up event for Taylor Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl in New York on September 30. Reuters
Fans queue to enter a Spotify pop-up event for Taylor Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl in New York on September 30. Reuters
Fans queue to enter a Spotify pop-up event for Taylor Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl in New York on September 30. Reuters
Fans queue to enter a Spotify pop-up event for Taylor Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl in New York on September 30. Reuters

What time is Taylor Swift's Life of a Showgirl album coming out around the world?


Farah Andrews
  • English
  • Arabic

On October 3, Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets era is coming to an end, and she will officially become a showgirl, as her new album The Life of a Showgirl is set for release.

Swift's 12th album, the record has had a well-documented release schedule, with promotional stops on Graham Norton and Jimmy Fallon's television shows announced, as well as the debut of The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, a film being shown in cinemas to support the album.

Release across time zones

The Life of a Showgirl album cover released by Republic Records. AP
The Life of a Showgirl album cover released by Republic Records. AP

The album will be released at midnight (Eastern Time) on October 3, which is 8am (Gulf Standard Time) in the UAE.

Here is when The Life of a Showgirl is expected to drop in other global time zones:

  • 5am in the UK (British Summer Time)
  • 6am in western and central Europe (Central European Time)
  • 7am in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Egypt (Atlantic Standard Time and Eastern European Summer Time)
  • 8am in the UAE (GST)
  • 9.30am in India and Sri Lanka (Indian Standard Time)
  • Noon in the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore (Central Standard Time)
  • Out at either 11am (Western Indonesia Time), noon (Central Indonesia Time) or 1pm (Eastern Indonesia Time) in Indonesia
  • 1pm in Japan and parts of Korea (Japan Standard Time)

The Life of a Showgirl release

In the run-up to the album's release, Swift's team have shared “the time card of a showgirl”, a schedule of release-week events posted by Taylor Nation. Taylor Nation is a social media presence run by the singer's management team.

Events include the premiere of The Official Release Party of a Showgirl at 3pm ET on October 3. The film will be shown in select cinemas in the UK and the US from October 3 to 5. At the time of writing, the film is not coming to UAE cinemas; however, last week cinema chain AMC's Instagram account teased: “For countries screening later in October, ticketing info will be announced around October 3. Stay tuned!” – so a global release could be on the cards.

Lead single The Fate of Ophelia's music video and The Life of a Showgirl lyric videos will be released on YouTube at 7pm ET on October 5 (3am GST on October 6).

Swift's first TV appearance to promote the album will be on The Graham Norton Show at 5.40pm ET. This will be followed by appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on October 6 and Late Night with Seth Meyers on October 8.

The album announcement

The album was announced in August, in a promotional clip for Swift's appearance on now-fiance and NFL footballer Travis Kelce's podcast, New Heights. In one clip released ahead of the episode, Swift took out a deliberately blurred version of the colourful album cover.

She appeared in a two-hour-long interview discussing the release, and a host of other topics, with her partner and his brother and co-host, Jason Kelce.

Section 375

Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat

Director: Ajay Bahl

Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL

Rating: 3.5/5

Results

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,000mm, Winners: Mumayaza, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m, Winners: Sharkh, Pat Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi

6pm: The President’s Cup Prep - Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle

6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle

7pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Gold Cup - Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7.30pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

8pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nibras Passion, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ismail Mohammed

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'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 325bhp

Torque: 450Nm

Price: Dh289,000

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

The%20specs
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The bio:

Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.

Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.

Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.

Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.

 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

World record transfers

1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m

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How does ToTok work?

The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store

To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.

The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.

Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.

 

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Updated: October 03, 2025, 8:36 AM