2015 saw a smorgasbord of mainstream musicians and pop culture icons performing in Israel – often to sold-out audiences, no less – including Kanye West, Robbie Williams, Bon Jovi, the Eagles of Death Metal, Mariah Carey, alt-J, and others.
And, if a recent report from Yedioth Ahronoth is any indication, there’s a good chance the trend will continue heading into 2016.
According to the Israeli daily, the princess of pop, Britney Spears, is rumoured to perform her first-ever gig in Israel sometime next year. Ahronoth reports that Spears’ management is currently in talks with at least three groups of Israeli producers, in the event that she embarks on a European tour to promote her next album, which she is currently working on.
“The current price quotation has already reached US$2.5 million,” a producer reportedly involved in the talks told Yedioth Ahronoth. “I will be very surprised if Britney’s people fail to sign the contract soon. It would be very hard to say no to such a sum.”
The offer is considerably higher than other pop stars who’ve recently played Israel, including Williams, who came for US$1.5 million, West, who performed for US$800,000, and Carey, who was reportedly paid US$500,000.
Spears recently received some positive press thanks to 2015 it girl Adele, who referred to her as a “queen” during an interview with NPR this week. “I love her,” she added.
According to Israeli producers, a Britney Spears concert in Tel Aviv would draw at least 40,000 people.
