Saudi Arabia to host Middle East’s biggest music festival next year
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, RIYAD – Government Saudi Arabia will host the biggest music festival in the Middle East next year. This activity is called walking with the participation of great international musicians.
The festival will take place from December 16 to 19 next year. This is part of an initiative launched by the Spirit of Saudi Arabia project under the Ministry of Tourism. The project serves to highlight all tourism activities and events, which are planned during the Saudi winter (October 2021 to March 2022).
Reported by Al Araby on Saturday (4/12), the event organizer hopes the festival can attract young tourists from the country, the Gulf and around the world. Around 200 musicians from various countries such as the Netherlands, New York, Canada, Russia and Florida will host the event.
The kingdom launched tourist visas in September 2019 with 400,000 visas issued in six months, before accepting travel suspensions, as well as the closure of ports and borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last October, for the first time Kingdom of Saudi Arabia finally decided to officially open the beach to all genders.
The Arab world’s largest economy is trying to shake off its reputation as an ultra-conservative nation with complicated administrative procedures and outdated regulations. Since becoming the de facto leader in 2017, Prince Mohammed has introduced a number of great economic and social changes. These include allowing women to drive, reopening cinemas, and allowing mixed music concerts and other entertainment options.
Until 2017, music was banned in public places, a measure imposed by the religious police, and women were only allowed to drive a year later. Simultaneously, however, the prince launched a crackdown on dissent and free speech, arresting activists, clerics and journalists as well as members of the royal family.
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