“…Implementation has begun and we will continue to reach the desired level and achieve the highest international standards”, stated the country’s General Entertainment Authority chief when speaking to Al Arabiya about Saudi Arabia’s first ever opera house.
In a bid to increase Saudi’s entertainment sector, Ahmad bin Aqeel al-Khatib added that $64 billion will be invested by the kingdom over the next 10 years.
Saudi Arabia’s emerging entertainment industry helped to employ 17,000 local citizens in 2017 and with aims for this sector to boost the economy, the country aims to employ a further 220,000 people this year.
The kingdom’s first opera house is a key project in its efforts to develop the leisure trade and promote culture.
A ceremony was held by the entertainment authority to launch Saudi’s 2018 showbiz calendar with promises to organize 5000 entertainment activities this year alone, with 500 being international, having successfully carried out 2,200 cultural events in 2017.
“In the past, investors would go outside the kingdom to produce their work, and then showcase it back in Saudi Arabia. Today, change will happen and everything related to entertainment will be done here,” promised Al Khatib.
