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 The kingdom had some cinemas in the 1970s but the clerical
establishment persuaded the authorities to close them,
reflecting rising Islamist influence throughout the Arab region
at the time.
Cinemas are still banned. And while concerts have started to be
held this year, they remain frowned on by clerics.
But the government has promised a shake-up of the cultural scene
with a set of "Vision 2030" reforms announced by Deputy Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz last year, aimed at
creating jobs and opening up Saudis' cloistered lifestyles.
The changes are also intended to capture up to a quarter of the
$20 billion currently spent overseas by Saudis, who are
accustomed to traveling abroad to see shows and visit amusement
parks in nearby tourist hub Dubai or further afield.
In a Reuters interview, Ahmed al-Khatib, chairman of the General
Entertainment Authority (GEA), said conservatives who criticized
the reforms were gradually learning that most Saudis, a majority
of whom are under 30, wanted these changes.
His goal was to create entertainment that "will be like 99
percent of what is going on in London and New York," although he
noted that after decades of cultural conservatism such change
could not be rapid.
"I believe we are winning the argument," he said. A few Saudis
were liberal, a few conservative, but "the majority are
moderate."
"They travel, they go to cinemas, they go to concerts. I am
counting on the middle segment, which is about 80 pct of the
population," he said. Conservatives, he added, could simply opt
to stay at home if they did not care for the events.
MASSIVE DEMAND
Saudi Arabia's top religious authority, Grand Mufti Sheikh
Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, has called cinemas and concerts
corrupting. Round-the-clock entertainment could open the door to
"atheistic or rotten" foreign films and encourage the mixing of
the sexes, he said in January.
In large part, the kingdom's entertainment plans are motivated
by economics. With oil prices low, authorities have embarked on
an ambitious reform program to diversify the economy and create
whole new sectors to employ young Saudis.
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The government has commissioned the Boston Consulting Group to
identify venues like parks and theaters for the kingdom to develop
through a mix of government funding and private sector investment.
Khateeb said the GEA’s activities have created 20,000 jobs so far
after only seven months, and can surpass targets set out last year
in the Vision 2030. He predicts the share of Saudi spending on
entertainment will triple to 8 or 9 percent by 2030.
The kingdom's most ambitious leisure project to date is a giant
entertainment city being planned for outside the capital Riyadh,
which would aim to draw regional visitors with resorts, golf
courses, car racing tracks and a Six Flags theme park.
"Our start is very encouraging. Every event is sold out," he said,
noting that 10,000 more people than could be accommodated showed up
for Comic-Con, a comic book convention held in Jeddah in February.
"The demand is massive. And it is normal – the demographic is young
in Saudi Arabia and we have a higher disposable income than other
countries."
CINEMAS
But Comic-Con also spurred the most public challenge to the
entertainment agenda thus far, drawing rebuke from thousands of
conservatives - including the imams of prominent mosques - after
video emerged of men and women dancing at the event.
Such conservatism was not always the way in Saudi Arabia, said
Khatib, but would take time to change after it had been nurtured
over the course of several decades.
Cinemas, a particular flashpoint, were not on the agenda in the
short term, but would come Saudi Arabia eventually, he said. "We
will get there. We'll get there. I know how. I don’t know when."
(Additional reporting by Andrew Torchia and Marwa Rashad; editing by
Philippa Fletcher)
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