Singers Assala Nasri and Ayed, television series AlRawabi School for Girls and Nema El Avoccato and the film Welad Al Rizk: El Qadia were among the big winners of the 2025 Joy Awards.
Held in Riyadh on Saturday, the star-studded event showcased the creme de la creme of the Arab world's music and film talents, alongside internationally renowned figures. Actors Nelly Karim and Ahmed Ezz graced the lavender carpet alongside Hollywood greats such as actor Morgan Freeman and film composer Hans Zimmer, both of whom were honoured with lifetime achievement awards for their outstanding career contributions. Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins, who was honoured at last year's event, was also among the attendees.
Now in its fifth year and organised by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, the Joy Awards has grown to become one of the region's most prestigious industry events – a Middle Eastern counterpart to the Grammy, Emmy and Academy Awards combined. This ambitious approach ensures the ceremony regularly gathers the largest number of Arab talents under one roof for a glittering evening broadcast live on MBC channels and the streaming platform Shahid.
Here is the full list of winners for the 2025 Joy Awards.
Best Film
WINNER: Welad Rizk 3: El Qadia
From the Ashes
Rehla 404
Shabab Al Bomb
Best Actress in a Film
WINNER: Hannah El-Zahed (Fasel Men El Lahazat El Lazeeza)
Khairiah Abulaban (From the Ashes)
Nour AlGhandour (Honeymoonish)
Yasmine Sabri (Abo Nasab)
Best Actor in a Film
WINNER: Hesham Maged (Ex Merati)
Ahmed Ezz (Welad Rizk 3: El Qadia)
Sohayb Godus (Ahlam Al Asr)
Faisal Al Essa (Shabab Al Bomb)
Best Gulf Series
WINNER: Shabab El Bomb 12
Thanawiyyat Al Naseem
Zawja Waheda La Takfi
Mathaf Yeddi
Best Egyptian Series
WINNER: Nema El Avoccato
Al Atawla
Ashghal Shaqa
Kamel El Addad +1
Best Levant Series
WINNER: AlRawabi School for Girls season two
Alameel
Lo'bat Hob
Wlad Badee'a
Best Actress in a Series
WINNER: Huda Hussein (Zawja Waheda La Takfi)
Elham Ali (Sondos 2)
Sulafa Mimar (Wlad Badee'a)
Nour Ali (Lo'bat Hob)
Best Actor in a Series
WINNER: Samer Ismail (Al Ameel)
Ayman Zidan (Al Ameel)
Abdulaziz Alshehri (Forsan Graih)
Moatasem Al Nahar (Lo'bat Hob)
Best Song
WINNER: El Jaw by Majid Al-Mohandes
Lammah by Ayed
Haygely Mawgow3 by Tamer Ashour
Wein by Al-Shami
Best Female Artist
WINNER: Assala Nasri
Elissa
Angham
Sherine Abdelwahab
Best Male Artist
WINNER: Ayed
Al-Shami
Tamer Ashour
Silawi
Most Popular Song
WINNER: Howa Enta Meen by Angham
WINNER: Hegeli Mojoua by Tamer Ashour
Best New Artist
WINNER: Rakan Al Sa’ed
TUL8TE
Khaled AlSarraf
Wijdane Said
Best Male Athlete
WINNER: Salem Al Dawsari
Yassine Bounou
Ayman Hussein
Houssem Aouar
Best Female Athlete
WINNER: Hattan Alsaif
Dunya Aboutaleb
Samaher Kurdi
Hana Goda
Best Male Influencer
WINNER: Shoong Boong (Ahmad Al Qahtani)
Abo Flah (Hassan Suleiman)
Osama Marwah
Naif Hamdan
Best Female Influencer
WINNER: Narin Amara (Narin's Beauty)
Sara Al Wari
Douha Laribi
Kadi AlJuraisi
Best Rising Star
WINNER: Al-Anoud Abdulhakim (Beyt Al Ankaboot)
Rasel Al-Otaibi (Sondos 2)
Mohammed Al-Harbi (Sondos 2)
Nayef Albahar (Thanawiyyat Al Naseem)
Best TV Series Director
WINNER: Rasha Sharbatji (Wlad Badee'a)
Ahmed Khaled Mousa (Al Atawla)
Ali Al-Ali (Zawja Waheda La Takfi)
Mohammed Sami (Nema El Avoccato)
Best Film Director
WINNER: Tarek Al-Eryan (Welad Rizk 3: El Qadia)
Ali Al-Kalthami (Night Courier)
Fatima Al-Banawi (Basma)
Moataz Al-Touni (Ex Merati)
Lifetime Achievement Award Winners
Yasser Al Azma
Morgan Freeman
Hanz Zimmer
Andrea Bocelli
Abdullah Al Muhaisen
Abdullah Al Ruwaished
JK Youn
Personality of the Year
Mather McConaughey
Joy Honoraries
Guy Ritchie
Hrithik Roshan
Mohamed Abdel Aziz
Saad Khedr
Abdul Rahman Al Aql
Ibrahim Al Sallal
Mariam Al Saleh
Ali Ibrahim
Abdel Rahman Al Khateeb
Diamond Entertainment Industry Award
Poet Badr bin Abdulmohsen
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
SPEC%20SHEET
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yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Dubai Women's Tour teams
Agolico BMC
Andy Schleck Cycles-Immo Losch
Aromitalia Basso Bikes Vaiano
Cogeas Mettler Look
Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
Hitec Products – Birk Sport
Kazakhstan National Team
Kuwait Cycling Team
Macogep Tornatech Girondins de Bordeaux
Minsk Cycling Club
Pannonia Regional Team (Fehérvár)
Team Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Team Ciclotel
UAE Women’s Team
Under 23 Kazakhstan Team
Wheel Divas Cycling Team
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Look%20Both%20Ways
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