RIYADH
(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will stage more than 5,000 shows, festivals
and concerts in 2018, double the number of last year, as it tries to
shake off its conservative image in a drive to keep tourist dollars at
home and lure in visitors.
The
state wants to capture up to a quarter of the $20 billion currently
spent overseas every year by Saudis seeking entertainment, lifting a ban
on cinemas and putting on shows by Western artists.
U.S.
rapper Nelly performed in Jeddah in December, albeit to a men-only
crowd, and Greek musician Yanni played to a mixed-gender audience.
The
gradual relaxing of gender segregation risks causing a backlash from
religious conservatives, but public objections to a wider programme of
reforms have been more muted in recent months after several critics were
arrested.
At
an event to launch the 2018 entertainment calendar, Ahmed al-Khatib,
chairman of the state-run General Entertainment Authority (GEA), said
infrastructure investments over the next decade would reach 240 billion
riyals ($64 billion), including an opera house to be completed around
2022.
Source: Yahoo News
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