Opinion People & Lifestyle Fun of the Fair – the wacky world of Art Dubai The annual culture blast is a good barometer of the emirate's economic fortunes March 1, 2024
Media & Advertising Saudi Arabia sets up Big Time film investment fund Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority has set up the Big Time investment fund to support pan-Arab cinema, in Riyadh’s latest push to develop soft power through sports and culture. The authority’s head Turki Alalshikh said during a visit to Cairo that the entertainment authority would act as the Big Time fund’s main sponsor along with […] February 19, 2024
Opinion People & Lifestyle Dubai authors must help balance the books A grant system could be the way to nurture homegrown literary talent February 8, 2024
Opinion People & Lifestyle Kinokuniya – where better to prepare for Dubai’s literary fest? The Japanese bookstore is proof of the abiding attraction of paper and ink January 26, 2024
Economy Dubai unveils $56bn plan to improve standard of living Dubai has unveiled a AED208 billion ($56.64 billion) ten-year strategy aimed at making the city one of the top three in the world for standard of living. There are also plans to double the number of Emirati families and triple the number of citizens working in the private sector by 2033. “We aim to double […] January 5, 2024
Media & Advertising Coming to a movie theatre near you … AlUla It would make the perfect setting for Star Wars or Indiana Jones, but AlUla is developing production facilities that will expand its reach beyond sci-fi and desert adventure movies, making it one of the region’s prime locations for international shoots. The tourist location in northwest Saudi Arabia is fast developing into a mini-city with an […] December 24, 2023
People & Lifestyle Opera hits the high notes as Saudi’s latest cultural attraction Anyone for opera? There was a time when the last place you would expect a serious answer to this question would have been Riyadh. But after Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli’s landmark performance in Alula last year, the sky’s the limit for musical tastes of all types as Saudi Arabia strives to develop a cultural profile […] December 18, 2023
People & Lifestyle Saudi art blooms with the kingdom’s transformation The arts have undergone profound changes in Saudi Arabia over the past decade as the country has enacted wide-ranging reforms, according to a leading Saudi artist. Once silenced by religious forces and a conservative culture, female artists in particular have come to the fore through a raft of government and private sector initiatives to encourage […] December 18, 2023
People & Lifestyle Gwyneth Paltrow slides door on films to focus on Goop Gwyneth Paltrow has all but closed the door on her acting career, giving her more time to focus on her wellness brand Goop and to explore new countries such as Saudi Arabia, the Oscar winner told an audience at the Red Sea International Film Festival. “For the foreseeable future I’m at Goop. I have a […] December 18, 2023
Media & Advertising In the streaming age, the TV stays on after Ramadan YouTube creators and streaming services are changing the face of television all over the world – but particularly in Arab countries, according to executives who attended the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah this month. The entertainment industry in the Middle East traditionally focused on the fasting month, when TV shows could find a captive […] December 18, 2023
Video length: 05:22 Construction Norwegian architects to help bring opera to Saudi masses Norwegian architects Snøhetta have unveiled the design for an opera house to be built in Riyadh by 2028 as part of Saudi Arabia’s drive to make a once forbidding capital city a global cultural destination. Video representations of the Royal Diriyah Opera House were shown last week at a ceremony in the historical Diriyah district […] December 18, 2023
Tech No need to fear AI, says Indian music legend New technologies such as artificial intelligence should be embraced, famed Indian composer A.R. Rahman said at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah this week. “It’s not new… human beings are constantly evolving, they will rise up to something that they can do.” AI has become something of a bogeyman in people’s minds, but […] December 8, 2023
People & Lifestyle Saudi Arabia wins bid to host World Expo 2030 Saudi Arabia will host the World Expo 2030 in Riyadh, surpassing bids from Busan in South Korea and the Italian city of Rome. A total of 119 countries endorsed Riyadh’s candidacy during the 173rd general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) held in Paris, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. The World Expo […] November 29, 2023
Tourism Ancient rock art to draw modern tourists to Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is funding research and excavation of the ancient rock art in its caves and mountains as it seeks to develop cultural tourism, an archaeologist has told AGBI. Dr Majeed Khan, who acts as a consultant to the kingdom’s Ministry of Culture, has been researching its petroglyphs – images carved out of rock thousands […] November 12, 2023
People & Lifestyle The Gulf has a rich musical heritage – it needs an audience When the Saudi National Orchestra made its New York debut in September, a centrepiece of the 80-member ensemble was a large green oil barrel. While serving as a wry reference to the US-Saudi special relationship, it also made a serviceable drum. For an evening, the pounding rhythms of majrour, samri and liwa brought the traditional […] November 5, 2023
People & Lifestyle Hollywood mogul is AlUla’s hero in Saudi movie twist The ancient city of AlUla in Saudi Arabia has turned to a former Warner Bros movie mogul to further its ambitions to become a world-class hub for the film and creative industry. Film AlUla, the Royal Commission for AlUla’s film agency, has signed a three-year deal with Stampede Ventures, led by founder and CEO Greg […] October 29, 2023
Media & Advertising UAE publisher in pact to take Arabic literature global New York-headquartered publishing company Penguin Random House and Kalimat Group, a UAE-based publisher of Arabic books, have partnered to bring more Arabic literature to readers globally. The pact will increase the range of titles available in international markets. The collaboration will initially focus on publishing fiction from their extensive rosters of authors, bringing a diverse range […] August 1, 2023
Video length: 6.42 Video Lifestyle Dubai plans to grow creative economy by 25% Dubai’s creative economy is expected to experience steady growth over the next few years, with the sector reaching 140,000 jobs by 2026, up from 90,000 in 2020. The GDP contribution target for the industry is set at 5 percent. This is up from the current 4 percent for creative industries including the arts, culture, music, films, […] July 7, 2023
Exclusive Fever meets growing demand for live entertainment in Gulf Fever, the live entertainment platform, is planning to expand across the Middle East after making its debut in Dubai. The company, headquartered in New York, is targeting growth in the region after raising $227 million in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs last year. It reached unicorn status with a billion-dollar valuation. Rachid Laurent […] February 16, 2023
How I got to the top Lifestyle Kemal Yazici, founder, Bedia Gallery Kemal Yazici is founder of Bedia Gallery, an art gallery and studio located in Al Khayat Avenue, Al Quoz, Dubai. What does your company do? Currently Bedia Gallery is exhibiting my artworks. However, in the very near future we will work together with Turkish and German artists and curators. Also, in the long term we […] December 23, 2022
Business of Sport Messi takes on Ronaldo in ‘cryptoverse’ World Cup 2022 The market for fan tokens, a volatile cocktail of crypto and sport, is heating up in the desert of Qatar. Interest in this niche breed of cryptocurrencies, typically linked to sports teams like Barcelona or Brazil, has been charged up by the soccer World Cup which began on November 20. Average daily trading volumes for […] November 29, 2022
Media & Advertising Twitter CEO Elon Musk says user signups at all-time high Twitter Inc chief executive Elon Musk says new user signups to the social media platform are at an “all-time high”, as he struggles with a mass exodus of advertisers and users fleeing to other platforms over concerns about verification and hate speech. Signups were averaging over two million per day in the last seven days […] November 27, 2022
