Saudi capital Riyadh welcomes opening of its second cinema

Arab News
May 1, 2018

Riyadh, May 1: Film fans in the Saudi capital witnessed the opening of its second cinema on Monday night.

The opening saw yet another player entering Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing entertainment landscape. This time it is VOX Cinemas, which now rivals AMC Cinemas in the Kingdom.

VOX Cinema promises lower prices and a much more practical location, inside a beautifully constructed mall. The new shopping center, Riyadh Park, is surrounded by natural light during the day and has many shops that have yet to open. It is convenient for moviegoers.  Ticket prices at the VOX cinema, which has Imax 3D, start at SR50 ($13.3). They will go on sale online or through the VOX app, starting in three days’ time.

The first four-screen multiplex in the Kingdom was opened under the patronage of Minister of Culture and Information Awwad Al-Awwad. Also in attendance was Reda Haidar, director general of the General Commission of Audiovisual Media.The movie screened was “Avengers: Infinity War.”

The cinema is located on the first floor of the mall and surrounded by restaurants and an entertainment center. Its four theaters can accommodate a large number of moviegoers and a variety of movies can be screened simultaneously.

VOX Cinemas is a subsidiary of Majid Al-Futtaim (MAF) and is the largest cinema operator in the MENA region.

Cinema returned to Saudi Arabia on April 18 with the first major movie screening in 35 years in a spectacular new theater in King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. The gala screening of the Hollywood blockbuster “Black Panther” was attended by hundreds of invited guests in the sleek and chic complex — described by AMC cinema chain bosses as “the most beautiful movie theater in the world.”

Saudi Arabia plans to open 350 cinemas across the country by 2030, which will include 2,500 screens, which are expected to contribute around $25 billion to the economy.

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Agencies
July 22,2020

Riyadh, Jul 22: Saudi King Salman held a cabinet meeting via video call from hospital in the capital Riyadh on Tuesday, a day after the 84-year-old monarch was admitted with inflammation of the gall bladder.

Three Saudi sources said the king was in stable condition.

A video of the king chairing the meeting was broadcast on Saudi state TV on Tuesday evening. In the video, which has no sound, King Salman can be seen behind a desk, wordlessly reading and leafing through documents.

The king, who has ruled the world’s largest oil exporter and close US ally since 2015, was undergoing medical checks, state media on Monday cited a Royal Court statement as saying.

Three well-connnected Saudi sources who declined to be identified, two of whom were speaking late on Monday and one on Tuesday, said the king was “fine”.

An official in the region, who requested anonymity, said he spoke to one of King Salman’s sons on Monday who seemed “calm” and that there was no sense of panic about the monarch’s health.

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News Network
July 10,2020

Dubai, Jul 10: Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan has appointed Dina Amin as CEO of the Visual Arts Commission.

She will take the lead in implementing the ministry’s vision and directions in promoting and developing visual arts in the Kingdom and empowering practitioners in the field.

Amin is a leading Saudi specialist in visual arts and the international contemporary art field. She gained a bachelor’s degree in art history and architecture from Wellesley College, in the US, and also attended a collaborative program in architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

During her career, spanning more than two decades, she has held senior positions in prominent international arts companies, including most recently Phillips, a global auction house for art, design, watches, jewels, and more.

She has also worked at Christie’s, one of the world’s most famous auction houses, employed in senior roles at the company’s international offices including New York, Dubai, and London.

The Visual Arts Commission is one of 11 new cultural bodies recently launched by the Ministry of Culture in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan to manage the empowerment and development of the Kingdom’s cultural sector. The commission will be responsible for managing and developing the visual arts sector to help achieve the ministry’s goals.

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News Network
April 29,2020

Dubai, Apr 29: Saudi Arabia reported 1,325 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 21,402, the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday (April 28).

Meanwhile, the ministry reported 169 recoveries today, with total recoveries in the kingdom at 2,953. There are 125 cases in intensive care.

The ministry also confirmed 5 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 157.

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