Major Tel Aviv roads closed for Rihanna performance

Major Tel Aviv arteries were shut down for the Rihanna concert Tuesday night, as heavy traffic was expected for the show.

  

Namir Road and the Rokach Interchange heading south would be closed off, and traffic moving south on the Ayalon Freeway would be rerouted to the KKL Interchange, Ynet reported.

Police requested that fans use public transportation to arrive.

Tens of thousands of mainly teenage Israelis flocked to see pop sensation Rihanna  in Tel Aviv. Over 50,000 tickets were sold for the show.

The concert was being held at Park Hayarkon, and was set to start at around 9 p.m., with tickets starting at NIS 369 and ranging to NIS 1,450 (over $400) for stage-side seats.

The show is the 25-year-old singer’s second in the country and is part of her “Diamond Tour,” which has the singer performing in the US, Europe, Australia, South Africa and elsewhere.

In May 2010, Rihanna performed at Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium. While she was already an international star at the time, her fame has since catapulted, making her a household name. In 2012, both Forbes and Time magazine named her as one of the most influential people in the world.

Among the Barbados-born Rihanna’s songs are such hits as “Only Girl (in the world),” “Where Have You Been,” “We Found Love,” and current chart-leader “Diamonds.” She has sold over 30 million albums and picked up numerous awards.

The pop star was scheduled to arrive in Israel at 9 a.m. this morning, flying in from Crete, but she arrived six hours late. Immediately upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport, Rihanna was taken by a helicopter to the Dead Sea for a photo shoot.

On Tuesday evening, she posted a photograph of herself gettingoff an airplane in Israel with the caption “Hello #ISRAEL!!!!”.

She is not expected to spend the night in Israel.