DECEMBER 2019 ISSUE Entertainment in the Kingdom And

DECEMBER 2019 ISSUE

Entertainment in the Kingdom and Future Prospects NDA NEWS EntertainmentA Letter from inOur Saudi Founder Arabia

Under the rule of H.R.H Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud and his vision 2030 blueprint, Saudi Arabia have set out to expand the Kingdom’s tourism and entertainment landscape – and what a year it has been. Attracting local and international visitors and investors, there have been many firsts for Saudi, and the year 2020 looks to be just as successful as this one. Let’s take a look back at the exciting entertainment events over the last few months, and what to expect in the new year.

We are currently nearing the end of Saudi’s three-month mega event, Riyadh Season Along with these star-studded performances, Festival. Taking place from October 15th to International events were brought to Riyadh December 15th, Riyadh is turning into a big too. All the way from London, the famous entertainment city with more than 100 events Winter Wonderland came to the Capital, and having taken place. Commissioned by the boasted fairground rides, ice skating, charming General Entertainment Authority (GEA), the markets and family shows; such as the famous season brought 14 international star acts and an magician Dynamo visiting to perform. The infamous Cirque Du Soleil also came to the capital to present their newest rendition, with acrobats and special effects leaving audiences in awe.

For the sporting world, there were also many exciting events that took place. WWE superstars travelled to Riyadh for the pay per view event, the WWE Crown Jewel. The array of exclusive shows to the country’s wrestling event also marked an important capital. Concerts were held in a range of venues historic milestone; as Lacey Evans and Natalya across the Saudi Capital, including the King Fahd Neidhart faced off in the first ever women’s International Stadium, with performances from wrestling match to be held in the country. the likes of Bruno Mars, Pitbull, John Legend, Both Saudi and international drivers got Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys and many more. The a chance to compete on the Kingdoms soil world’s most popular Korean pop band, BTS, also in various events, for example the made their Saudi debut, and performed in the Saudi TOYOTA Desert Rally King Fahd Stadium as part of their world tour. Championship, held in Ad Diriyah,

and the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY, an all-electric balloon festival. There will also be tours of race in Diriyah which saw another milestone for Madain Saleh, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Saudi women as Reema Juffali became the first Heritage site, and landmarks such as Al Ula’s Saudi woman to race on her home soil. famous Elephant Rock.

It has been a busy year for Saudi Arabia in terms of the entertainment sector and a huge success, as they have produced tourism, jobs for residents, and generated a positive media buzz for the Kingdom. The approaching new year will be no different; many exciting events are planned to take place in the coming spring months.

The Saudi Cup Races, a new race for thoroughbred horses and dubbed ‘the world’s richest race’ is set to take place on February 29th, 2020 at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh. It offers the chance to compete against the world’s finest and will create an iconic Coming up this month on 7th December is Clash moment in the global racing calendar. On The Dunes - the first-ever World Heavyweight Title fight to be in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the current unified world heavyweight Andy ‘The Destroyer’ Ruiz Jr, and Anthony ‘AJ’ Joshua, the 2012 Olympics gold medallist, will go head – to – head.

Also this month, The Winter at Tantora festival, which took place last year, will be returning on December 19 after the conclusion of Riyadh Season. A celebration of life, culture, heritage and beauty, the popular festival will include Also in the month of February, the Jeddah concerts and performances from singers Shopping Festival will be taking place – aimed at including Bocelli, Yanni, Lionel Richie, Rod stimulating and supporting the retail Stewart and Enrique Iglesias. In addition, there tourism and other sectors such as will be other events such as cooking under the hotels, entertainment venues and resorts stars with chefs from Michelin-starred sector. The festival will include restaurants, the Fursan horse race and the AlUla promotions and events,

entertainment, competitions and activities inside the malls in Jeddah.

One of the most popular Saudi events, The Riyadh Spring Festival, taking place in April 2020, organized by the Riyadh Municipality, attracts more than 150,000 visitors to the city. By far the most outstanding attraction is the planting of over 1.4 million flowers and to open by the year 2020. Organised by the Red ornamental plants that, together, form massive Sea Film Foundation, the focus of the opening edition of the annual festival will be on showcasing emerging talent from the Kingdom and beyond, exploring the latest styles and trends in international cinema, and boosting local production and distribution within Saudi Arabia for local and international films.

Sports-wise, Dakar rally will be hosting an inaugural event in Saudi and have confirmed the details of the route of the world’s most landscape decorations. The festival depicts the challenging rally race. Introduced to Asia for the natural resources available at that time of the first time, Dakar Saudi Arabia 2020 is an event year in the Kingdom and focuses on landscape of global appeal and demonstrates the country’s architecture and awareness programmes. passion and obsession with motorsports.

One of Saudi Arabia’s most popular cultural festivals, Janadriyah festival, will be held in November next year to coincide with the Kingdom’s hosting of the G20 summit in Riyadh. Preparations for the festival are already underway and a strong program of activities are being lined up to highlight the Kingdom’s rich national heritage. It will provide the opportunity for visitors from around the world to sample Other sporting events to take place in the some of the country’s cultural traditions. Kingdom in 2020 include the Spanish Super Cup 2020 Football finals, and a five-day In the world of film, Jeddah has once again set Saudi Cycling Tour organised by Tour de its sights on launching another first: The France owner ASO. The latter will International Red Sea Film Festival, which is set give the opportunity for television

viewers who follow the race to discover new landscapes and will aid development of cycling across the Kingdom.

All in all, it has been an exciting year for not only the residents of Saudi Arabia, but for the rest of the world too; and 2020 looks set to turn out some even more thrilling firsts for the Saudi entertainment sector. We look forward to watching the country’s development and embedding ourselves in its rich cultural heritage.