musical.today Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Coca-Cola Arena
17,000 seats
Seventeen thousand seats under one roof in City Walk, and the only indoor arena of its size in the region. Chicago plays it for five nights in December 2026 — an arena staging of a show built for a house a tenth the size.
The building
Populous designed it — the practice behind a long list of stadiums and arenas — and the roof is rigged to carry 190 tonnes, which is what lets a touring production hang a full show from it rather than build one on the floor. There are seventeen lifts, twenty-six escalators, eight artist dressing rooms and thirty-five concession stands inside.
The front is a lighting system rather than a facade: 4,600 LEDs, reprogrammed for whoever is playing. At least twenty-eight wheelchair spaces are available, and the number changes with the staging, so it is worth asking when you book rather than after.
Opening dates, capacities and architects on this page come from the theatre's own history pages and from Wikipedia.
Getting there
City Walk, off Al Safa Street between Financial Centre Road and Sheikh Zayed Road. Taxi or a short drive from Business Bay and Downtown Dubai.