Saud Arabia's Riyadh Season promises to be its biggest yet with thousands of events planned across the capital.
Details of the five-month entertainment and cultural festival, to begin on October 20 and running until March 2022, was announced on Monday by the General Entertainment Authority.
Chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said the event “will dazzle the world” with an expansive programme of 7,500 events covering everything from music, arts and theatre to food and sporting events.
Music lovers are in for a feast of concerts with 70 featuring regional artists and six performed by international acts.
When it comes to the stage, expect 18 Arabic plays to take place in addition to six by international companies.
Al-Sheikh also announced a wrestling event will be part of Riyadh Season.
While he didn't name the show, it has already been announced that the WWE wrestling spectacular Crown Jewel will be held in Riyadh's King Fahd International Stadium on Thursday, October 21.
A gaming tournament is also planned as well as two international football matches.
For the culinary programme, 200 restaurants and 70 cafes are set to take part in the festival.
The latest announcement comes after it was revealed in August that Riyadh Season will take place in an area measuring 5.4 million square meters and spread across 14 thematic zones.
Also announced in September was the Riyadh Season Cup, a football tournament featuring the star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side alongside local clubs Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
A number of celebrity players from Paris Saint-Germain feature in Riyadh Season’s promotional campaign including Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, Brazil’s Neymar and France wunderkind Kylian Mbappe.
Riyadh Season returns after its inaugural iteration in 2019 which featured concerts by K-pop stars BTS, the dance festival MDL Beast and regional acts including Emirati singer Hussain Al Jassmi, Lebanese pop stars Nancy Ajram and Nawal Zoghbi and Syria's Assala.
Winter at Tantora is coming
In December, the Kingdom's Al Ula region will be celebrated with Winter at Tantora, a four-month programme of events, running from Tuesday, December 21 to Sunday, March 27.
Events will span music, arts, fashion, food and wellness and include concerts, installations, ballooning, hiking and a citrus festival.
Food lovers will also have the option of enjoying hearty local and gastronomic dishes with various restaurants including Maraya Social, a rooftop restaurant by Michelin-lauded British chef Jason Atherton.
Both Riyadh Seasons and Winter at Tantora will take place with health and safety measures provided by authorities.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
