Saudi marks national day with fireworks and concerts
Riyadh : With iconic buildings bathed in green light and planned cultural shows, concerts and fireworks, Saudi Arabia geared up to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the kingdom yesterday.
Car stereos blared patriotic songs as citizens began racing through the streets of the capital Riyadh at midnight in cars bedecked with the national flag to mark the annual event in the kingdom, founded in the 1930s.
“On this great occasion, we feel that the kingdom has become an important state with a pioneering role at the regional and international levels,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a speech cited by the official Saudi Press Agency.
“What our country is witnessing today is due to the continuation by King Salman of what has been done by the former kings of this country of giving, goodness and development as well as efforts to serve Islam and support Muslims,” he said.
The 32-year-old prince is set to be the first millennial to occupy the throne in a country where half the population is under 25, though the timing of his ascension remains unknown.
“The kingdom is an active member in the G20, the world’s strongest 20 economies, and is keen to achieve the kingdom’s Vision 2030 that represents the beginning of a new phase of hard work for a better future, with the same Islamic values,” Prince Mohammed said in his speech.
The Crown Prince also reiterated the Kingdom’s resolve to root out terrorism and extremism. “Under the leadership of King Salman, this country has affirmed its right to uphold the truth and commitment to its principles to achieve justice as well as its quest for the achievement of regional security and world peace.”
The kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority is hosting 27 events across 17 cities to celebrate national day, including concerts, laser shows and firework displays.
Celebrations with the motto of “Strengthening Social Bonds,” began on Thursday and will run through Monday in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Hail, Alkhobar, Jazan, Abha, Onaiza, Tabuk, Sakaka, Jubail, Yanbu, Hafr Al-Batain, Hofuf, Madinah and Najran.
The festivities are part of a government bid to boost national pride and improve the quality of life for Saudis.
The main highlight will be a cultural event at the King Fahd stadium in Riyadh, where women have been invited for the first time to attend celebrations with their families, opening up a previously male-only venue. The presence of women at the King Fahd stadium marks a departure from previous celebrations in the Gulf kingdom where they are effectively barred from sports arenas by strict rules.
Women were allowed to enter the stadium, a previously male-only venue used mostly for football matches, with their families and seated separately from single men to watch a musical show and a play on Saudi history.
“We hope in the future that there will be no restrictions on our entrance to the stadium,” Um Abdulrahman, a woman from the northwestern city of Tabuk, told AFP.
As a swell of enthusiastic women cheering swept through the stadium, with a few wearing colourful wigs on top of their veils, some Saudi men on social media lauded their participation as a “historic” moment.
“Looks like women bought all the tickets!” one Saudi man quipped on Twitter.
The General Entertainment Authority, the government agency organizing the National Day festivities, expects some 1.5 million Saudis to attend events in 17 cities over four days.
Saudi chefs in the Red Sea city of Jeddah broke the Guinness world record for baking the biggest marble cake -- with green icing -- to mark national day, the government said.
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