Saudi Arabia’s 90th National Day: Arab stars join celebrations

Abu Dhabi: Marking the country’s 90th National Day, Saudi Arabia will host its first concerts since the outbreak of the coronavirus, with a series of performances featuring 11 stars from across the Arab world, said Turki Al Sheikh, chairman of Entertainment Authority.

Saudi national day, also known as Al-Yaom-ul-Watany, is annually celebrated on September 23 with folk dances, songs, and traditional festivals.

The roads and buildings are decorated with Saudi flags and people wear green shirts.

The national day – which became a public holiday in 2007 – commemorates the renaming of the country from the “Kingdom of Nejd Hejaz” to the “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” by Saudi Arabia King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, on September 23, 1932.

The day is also an opportunity to learn about the work of King Abdul Aziz, and what he did to establish his family dominance.

To mark this special occasion, the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) will host several concerts performed by Arab world stars for 5 days at the King Abdullah Sports City.

The concerts will feature the performance by Rashed Al Majed, Aseel Abu Bakr, Majid Al Mohandes, Abadi Al Johar, Dalia Mubarak and Rabih Saqer.

Amr Diab, Angham, Mohamed Hamaki and Tamer Ashour are also set to partake in the celebrations.

The series of events taking place amid the easing of COVID-19 preventive measures will host Angham and Tamer Ashour on 24 September and Hamaki on 25 September at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City. Events will conclude with Diab on 26 September.

Diab released two trending video clips in August, Ya Baladna Ya Helwa (O’ Our Beautiful Country) and Amaken El-Saher (Places of Nightlife), in addition to a few other songs shot the beach.

Hamaki has trended with Howa Dah Habibi (This is my Beloved), while Angham has recently made a successful summer single, Bahebak W-Bartahlak (I Love You and I Feel You) after Tamer Ashour released Bayaa (Selling Out), which garnered five million views on the YouTube channel of its Saudi lyricist Turki Al Sheikh.

The Saudi concerts are organised by the Entertainment Authority, under the helm of Al Sheikh, with strict safety measures to avoid the spread of the virus.

Saudi Arabia, almost halting Muslims’ pilgrimage from abroad this year, has reported over 320,827 cases of coronavirus with over 4,000 deaths.

Check out the concerts lineup:

September 22 
Rashed Al Majed and Aseel Abu Bakr, Green Halls in Dammam.
Ahlam, King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.

September 23
Majid Al Mohandes, King Fahad Cultural Center in Riyadh.
Dalia Mubarak and Abadi Al Johar, King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.

September 24
Angham and Tamer Ashour, Kind Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.

September 25
Mohamed Hamaki, King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
Rabih Saqer, King Fahad Cultural Center in Riyadh.

September 26