Saudi Arabia is shining with advances in cinema, culture, music and entertainment — exceeding expectations and goals set in the Saudi Vision 2030.
In just a few years since the ambitious social and economic reform programme was established, the country is making waves in the world of cinema.
Its films have been nominated for international awards, it is hosting Hollywood film productions and it has opened dozens of cinemas.
Additionally it has made thousands of discoveries in the world of archeology and new sites have been added to the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
With this massive onboarding of artisans and supporting talent and the investment of millions, the Saudi economy is expected to reap great returns.
Apart from this, grants and investments worth tens of millions of riyals are being spent to develop and nurture the youth’s capabilities in these fields.
In fact, more than 400 cultural professions have been added to the Saudi Standard Classification of Occupations, and 11 independent bodies have been established under the umbrella of culture.
In an interview with Al Majalla, Dr. Nouf Abdulaziz Alghamdi, an economic development advisor, said that culture has increasingly turned into a vital soft power.
This, coupled with the economic potential of culture, according to Mohammad Al-Suwaid, an expert economic analyst, is expected to yield great returns for the economy.
Culture has increasingly turned into a vital soft power. This, coupled with the economic potential of culture is expected to yield great returns for the economy.
Dr. Nouf Abdulaziz Alghamdi, Economic advisor
First steps
Before discussing promoting culture for economic growth, we take a look at the Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to nurture the country's cultural scene.
Culture constitutes an important path for economic growth, is an integral part of life, and strengthens the Kingdom's position internationally by investing in its diverse history, heritage, and culture.
Cyclists ride past ancient Nabataean carved tombs as it crosses the archaeological site of al-Hijr (Hegra), during the fifth stage of 2023 Saudi Tour, from AlUka Old Town to Maraya on February 3, 2023.
A vision of this strategic depth requires institutional backing and participation. The first steps pave the way for a societal shift in how culture is viewed and valued.
Concrete steps began in 2018, when the Ministry of Culture and Information was divided into two separate ministries. The new Ministry of Culture was restructured, and its administration was formed to make 'culture' a primary feeder for the national economy, in addition to its other important national roles.
In early 2020, the Ministry of Culture established the following 11 independent bodies: The Film Commission, the Music Commission, the Museums Commission, the Visual Arts Commission, the Culinary Arts Commission, the Architecture and Design Arts Commission, the Libraries Commission, the Heritage Commission, the Fashion Commission, the Theatre and Performing Arts Commission, and the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission.
These bodies were supported by specialised national cadres, specific strategies, roadmaps, and targets that are set up to achieve the cultural strategy goals of Saudi Arabia with its intellectual, economic, and social dimensions.
400 new cultural professions
Investing in culture has led to the creation of job opportunities and the inclusion of more than 400 cultural professions. This is meant to nuture young talented and creative minds and transform their talents from a hobby into an actual profession.
Investing in culture has led to the creation of job opportunities and the inclusion of more than 400 cultural professions. This is meant to nuture young talented and creative minds and transform their talents from a hobby into an actual profession.
This move has led an increase in the number of craftsmen registered in the Saudi Craftsmen Association to 5,000.
This also coincided with the launch of the Saudi Seasons programme, with 11 cultural seasons that include four main events — namely entertainment, culture, business, and sporting events.
Cyclists ride past ancient Nabataean carved tombs as it crosses the archaeological site of al-Hijr (Hegra), during the fifth stage of 2023 Saudi Tour, from AlUka Old Town to Maraya on February 3, 2023.
This revealed a tangible change in the volume of relevant numbers and interaction, which prompted the expansion of events to all the regions of the Kingdom.
In 2020, the development of public libraries and their importance to nurturing culture in the country, was announced as a target that went hand in hand with launching the Saudi Contemporary Art Exhibition and Fashion Weeks.
International forums
The Kingdom has taken actual steps to enhance its cultural presence and participation in important international forums, such as the "Bienalsur" tour around the world and the Cannes Film Festival, while also working towards reaching the Oscars and the world's most valuable prizes.
Apart from this, the country is working on approving a cultural scholarship programme and inviting the most important international writers, musicians, singers, and media professionals to attend and participate in the activities of the different seasons.
Achievements in the cinema sector are perhaps the best indicators of these great transformations, as 2022 witnessed a boom across the entire spectrum of the cinema industry, with three major Hollywood movies and eight local feature movies filmed in the Kingdom.
AMC scored the first cinema operating license in the Kingdom paving the way for the issuance of permits for cinemas.
Transformation
The General Entertainment Authority estimated that consumer spending on entertainment in Saudi Arabia will reach SAR 36 billion by 2030, creating 114,000 direct jobs and 110,000 indirect jobs, noting that cultural and artistic events constitute an important pillar of the entertainment sector in the Kingdom.
A report published in cooperation between OceanX and Socrates revealed that cultural days and events in the Kingdom increased to 235 days in 2020, although the Saudi Vision estimated 61 cultural days.
It is no surprise then that the opening of cinemas garnered the most interest with 32 cinemas opened in various regions of the Kingdom.
Saudi women enter a movie theatre at a cinema in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on June 22, 2020.
This happened in conjunction with performances by national music bands, the opening of a unified centre for cultural services and licensing, the foundation of the Saudi theatre, and the establishment of a national film archive.
This was also accompanied by the increase in authors and writers in Saudi Arabia, bringing the number of local authors from 6,124 authors in 2016 to 17,570 authors at the end of 2019, marking a whopping 187% increase.
The importance of heritage
The Ministry of Culture placed heritage at the top of its interests, as it constitutes, along with historical sites, an important feeder for tourism and the economy, in general.
The number of archaeological sites discovered increased from 241 in 2017 to 354 in 2020, while the number of urban heritage sites registered in the National Cultural Heritage Register reached 1,000 in 2020 compared to 400 in 2016.
Moreover, 2,151 artifacts were stored starting in 2020, 340 archaeological features were registered, and 1,949 artifacts were discovered at the Dadan archaeological project.
Saudi Arabia is now home to an impressive six acclaimed UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Historic Jeddah, Hegra Archaeological Site in AlUla, Al-Turaif District in Al-Diriyah, Rock Art in Hail, Al-Ahsa Oasis, and the Hima Cultural Area in Najran.
Saudi Arabia is now home to an impressive six acclaimed UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Historic Jeddah, Hegra Archaeological Site in AlUla, Al-Turaif District in Al-Diriyah, Rock Art in Hail, Al-Ahsa Oasis, and the Hima Cultural Area in Najran.
Women and culture
The Saudi woman has been part of this cultural movement as a partner in achieving the national cultural strategy through her various contributions.
The names of several Saudi female creative minds emerged — especially in the cinema sector. Saudi Director Shahd Amin's movie "Lady of the Sea" was nominated for Oscar's Best Foreign Film category and award-winning Director Hana Alomair also made a considerable contribution with her thriller series "Whispers."
The Ministry of Culture further supported Saudi female filmmakers through the Daw' Film Competition to augment film production.
Many Saudi women have registered a remarkable presence by producing the dress code for the Saudi Cup — mainly fashion expert Dr. Layla al-Bassam and plastic artist Noura al-Samhan.
The names of Saudi women have also emerged in the music sector through sung poems composers, new singing voices, and instrument playing, such as the Saudi physician, musician, and composer Nadia Dandachi and others.
Private sector
The Ministry of Culture, through organised initiatives, was able to promote its cultural projects with the private sector, which found in the new vision for cultural investment in Saudi Arabia a paved way to pump capital to support young talent and contribute to cultural identity with different ideas.
A picture shows the Boulevard entertainment city in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on January 16, 2023.
This naturally prompted the ministry to provide licenses for the private sector to run activities across various cultural domains.
Future of culture
Dr. Nouf A. Alghamdi, economic development consultant, said in an interview with Al Majalla that the Saudi cultural system is working to increase the pace and volume of funding and investment across all sub-sectors.
For example, the Cultural Development Fund fosters a system that encourages investment, promotes sustainability, and reaffirms the role of culture as an engine of growth.
To achieve this, more than SAR 180 million in grants were provided in 2022 under a strategic umbrella supporting the private sector to secure SAR 2.5 billion of private investment in culture by 2030.
Alghamdi explained that the Kingdom seeks to strengthen the 16 cultural sectors that have been identified within the national strategy for culture — namely heritage, museums, cultural and archaeological sites, theatre and performing arts, books and publishing, architecture and design, natural heritage, films, fashion, language and translation, culinary arts, festivals and cultural events, literature, libraries, visual arts, music.
This would be achieved through specialised financing programmes, provided that they are directed towards various cultural fields such as developing education and training, creating content, marketing cultural output, working on infrastructure, enabling digital transformation, and formulating strategic partnerships with several entities in the government sector as a form of support for the role of small and medium enterprises.
This would have a positive impact on the Kingdom's economy, coinciding with raising the efficiency of the cultural sector at all levels.
Soft power
Alghamdi hopes that "national culture will have a prominent and important presence at an international level as one of the most important means of influencing soft power and communicating to 'others' our cultural identity, creativity, perceptions, and ideas about life, people, and the world."
A picture shows the Boulevard entertainment city in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on January 16, 2023.
Alghamdi also affirmed "the Kingdom's keenness to enhance its national culture through programmes, projects, and strategies for sustainable cultural development sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and its affiliated bodies.
These aspirations were laid out and supported by the Saudi Vision 2030, which envisions the Kingdom as having an influential position in international culture.
Some vivid examples of the mega cultural projects in the transformation programme, include Diriyah Gate, NEOM, Qiddiya, the Red Sea, and other projects that bear the Saudi identity, heritage, and cultural civilisation.
Financial gains
As for the financial gains of cultural investment in Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Al-Suwaid, an expert economic analyst, said in an interview with Al Majalla that "supporting investment in the cultural sector is on the right track, as these sectors, particularly film and fashion, are considered important economic domains and can effectively contribute to the economy."
Supporting investment in the cultural sector is on the right track, as these sectors, particularly film and fashion, are considered important economic domains and can effectively contribute to the economy.
Mohammad Al-Suwaid, Economy analyst
"These sectors also integrate with other economic sectors, such as tourism and entertainment, which means that their impact on economic growth can be doubled to contribute to the growth of other sectors in Saudi Arabia because of this integration."
Al-Suwaid points out that many estimates indicate that the tourism and entertainment sectors will add more than 5% to the GDP by 2030, meaning that the intended investment gain from these sectors is a good idea, not to mention the contribution of this social sector to raising the quality of life in Saudi cities and developing the culture and personality of the Saudi individual.
These elements support each other to eventually achieve social development and financial gains.
All these efforts, anchored into an ambitious vision, have demonstrated Saudi Arabia's ability to change old notions about culture — previously viewed as a sector based purely on government support — to a sector that constitutes an important economic path parallel to the importance of its intellectual path, and this is what creates a new perception of culture as a feeder for the economy and development.
