The Saudi Entertainment Authority, supervised by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), spent $8 billion on billboards throughout the Kingdom over the past two months, sources familiar with the matter revealed.
The billboards included pictures of singers and dancers that were placed on highways and internal roads, the sources added.
Top secret sources recently revealed that MBS held a secret and closed meeting with Turki Al-Sheikh for two hours.
During the meeting, MBS ordered Al-Sheikh to expand entertainment parties throughout the kingdom.
Long known for its ultra-conservative mores, the kingdom has embarked on a wide-ranging program of social and economic reforms driven by its crown prince.
The country that has been better known as the birthplace of Islam than a rave capital has gone through a tremendous makeover since MBS took control of the everyday running of the kingdom in 2017. Soundstorm is an eye-catching symbol of that change.
Well-informed sources also confirmed that Saudi Arabia has gradually eliminated “negative” terms pertaining to Jews and Christians from its school textbooks.
The schoolbooks now moderate their language regarding Israel. References to “the Israeli enemy” or “the Zionist enemy” have been replaced with phrases such as “the Israeli occupation” or “the Israeli army of occupation.”
In 2016, Saudi Arabia established the General Entertainment Authority in tandem with Vision 2030 – the crown prince’s plan to diversify its economy beyond oil, which accounts for more than half of the government’s revenue.
Among its goals was to almost double household spending on cultural and entertainment activities within the kingdom. Riyadh is now seeing more than $64 billion in entertainment investment, with a significant proportion of that going to the live music industry.
The Kingdom also hosted several international sports events and financed others, such as LIV Golf, which is 93% owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
MBS earlier declared the Red Sea Global with an archipelago of more than 50 untouched islands.
He also bought shares valued at about half a billion dollars each in Facebook Inc. US:FB, Walt Disney Co.
He has also bought 8% stake in world’s biggest cruise operator Carnival, for $370 million, while he is looking to expand its investments in Hollywood, with a reported bid to buy $12.5 billion Warner Music.
MBS also bought a $500-million yacht in 2015 and was also reported to be the mystery buyer of a $450-million Leonardo da Vinci painting in 2017.
MBS’s Vision 2030 prides itself on offering “world-class entertainment” and says that it has organized up to 3,800 entertainment events in the country, attended by more than 80 million people.
