David Blaine: now you see him

Here is part of our summer guide to some of the hottest events in the UAE.

David Blaine, who has apparently defied every law of nature in his career as an illusionist, is set to bring his bizarre brand of magic for his Middle East debut show in the capital next month.

The 41-year-old, who idolises Harry Houdini, is bringing David Blaine: Real or Illusion – complete with a hair-­raising grand finale – to the capital.

Blaine became a household name when he took his childhood obsession with magic to the next level with a performance on a television show in 1997. He later took to the streets to astound passers-by with levitation, spoon-­bending, mind-reading and turning coffee into coins.

His more recent stunts have been life-threatening, from burying himself in an underground plastic box for a week (1999), being encased in a box of ice for more than 63 hours (2000) and holding his breath underwater for 17 minutes, for which he held the Guinness World Record for a few months in 2008. He stepped it up in 2012 when he performed Electrified: One Million Volts Always On, a stunt in which seven giant Tesla coils projected one million volts of electricity around him.

• David Blaine will perform at Emirates Palace from August 21 to 23, at 8pm. Tickets are priced from Dh200 and can be purchased on www.ticketmaster.ae

aahmed@thenational.ae