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
Business of Sport The legacy of falconry lives on in the Arab world Falcons and the sport of falconry remain not only a thriving niche business but also a proud legacy representing the Gulf’s culture. The third Saudi Falcons Club auction, which concludes on November 15, has already sold six falcons for SR 645,000 ($172,000). The auction in Malham, north of Riyadh, is run in conjunction with the […] October 31, 2022
Media & Advertising Musk’s Twitter ownership starts with firing of top executives Elon Musk became Twitter Inc’s owner on Thursday, firing top executives and providing little clarity over how he will achieve the lofty ambitions he has outlined for the influential social media platform. “The bird is freed,” he tweeted, referencing Twitter’s bird logo in an apparent nod to his desire to see the company have fewer […] October 28, 2022
Weekend read Saudi Arabia invests in art to create ‘the Arab Damien Hirst’ Saudi Arabia is using some of its huge oil profits to invest in local artists, in a bid to create an internationally renowned Arab art superstar on a par with the likes of Damien Hirst, according to a senior executive at leading art auction houses Christie’s. “What is happening in Saudi Arabia right now is […] October 7, 2022
Queen Elizabeth’s death: Reaction from politicians and officials State heads and officials from around the world have offered their condolences for Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, after she died on Thursday 8 September. Middle East royals and leaders pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II The world mourns Queen Elizabeth II: 1926 – 2022 UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the queen was widely […] September 8, 2022
Media & Advertising Gulf states demand Netflix pull content deemed offensive Gulf Arab states have demanded that US streaming giant Netflix remove content deemed offensive to “Islamic and societal values” in the region, Saudi Arabia’s media regulator said on Tuesday. It did not specify the content, but mentioned that it included content aimed at children. Saudi state-run Al Ekhbariya TV, in a programme discussing the issue, […] September 7, 2022
Business of Sport Qatar to allow beer at World Cup three hours before kick-off Qatar will permit ticketed fans to buy alcoholic beer at World Cup soccer matches starting three hours before kickoff and for one hour after the final whistle, but not during the match, a source with knowledge of plans for the tournament said. Budweiser, a major World Cup sponsor with exclusive rights to sell beer at […] September 4, 2022
Parts of Expo City Dubai to open to visitors from September 1 Fans of Expo 2020 Dubai will be able to visit some of the event’s key features and pavilions from September 1, a month ahead of the official reopening of the site as a business and entertainment hub. The Government of Dubai Media Office announced on Monday that two of the site’s most popular pavilions, Alif […] August 29, 2022
Lifestyle ‘House of the Dragon’ renewed for second season “House of the Dragon”, the highly anticipated “Game of Thrones” prequel, has been renewed for a second season after its first episode proved a hit. Based on George RR Martin’s “Fire & Blood”, the drama is set 200 years before the events that played out in “Game of Thrones” and focuses on how the House […] August 28, 2022
Anghami bets on Arabic music to deliver streaming growth Abu Dhabi-based streaming provider Anghami is betting on Arabic content to deliver future growth as it announced a 41 percent increase in subscribers in the first half of 2022. With just one percent of Anghami’s content being Arabic, it is one area that the company is looking to grow significantly, Elie Habib, chief technology officer […] August 17, 2022
