[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="2017 AN YEAR OF ENTERTAINMENT" ids="112340,112341,112342,112343"] CINEMA, concerts and the 2017 calendar of the General Entertainment Authority, among other matters, were the subjects that were discussed in an interview with the CEO of the General Authority for Entertainment, Amr Al-Madani, who confirmed that 2017 will be the year of entertainment for the Saudis. He pointed out that the goal of the entertainment authority is to give the Saudi citizens further reasons to stay in the Kingdom, and enjoy the rich entertainment environment. The entertainment calendar will be launched by January-end, Al-Madani said. "We would like to call this year the ‘Year of the entertainment'. Our goal is to offer a variety of events, giving the citizen opportunities to enjoy and have good memories with the family. We aim to pave the way for a positive and attractive environment. We are also working on targeting investors. We would like to offer clear and transparent laws, in addition to excellent services. If the relations with the investors are established on good terms, we will definitely pave the way for a new economic sector, i.e. ‘entertainment,'" he said. On the authority's strategy to cut the number of Saudis traveling abroad for entertainment, Al-Madani said traveling is usually associated with discovery, educational and recreational benefits. "If we take into consideration the great opportunities that we have, with the nature, infrastructure and characteristics of the Kingdom, we find that they are similar to those overseas. Nevertheless, one can always travel whenever one wishes," he said. On whether the authority has set a target share of the SR80 billion that are spent outside the Kingdom, the official said the percentage has already been defined within a key performance indicator included in Vision 2030. "We are now working on setting a chart for this percentage. The annual economic indicators will extend until 2020, which in turn will contribute to reaching the final target percentage in 2030. We seek to raise the expenditure by Saudi families on the entertainment sector in the Kingdom from 2.9 percent to 6 percent, which is an international percentage. He said the authority was preparing a strategic plan for the entertainment sector. But since the authority works already for society, we worked with special partners to provide distinctive entertainment opportunities from day one, and we are still in the first stages. We promise the citizens to work with transparency and we will be announcing our goals, numbers and strategies over the next four months," he said. Dwelling on the huge load of responsibility in spreading entertainment activities among Saudis, Al- Madani said one of the key indicators that is being developed is the happiness indicator. "It will be part of our culture and tradition. We will work on the musical and cultural choices as well as poetry events; each sector will have plenty of choices," he said. Responding to a question on the category that the authority will be targeting the most in 2017, Al-Madani said the family was the main target. "But, it does not mean that we will not focus on the youth who represent 60 percent of Saudi society. All categories will be covered with the 2017 calendar. There will be exceptional events that will have a targeted audience. We will organize events that will target young people and families too. This is what we worked on in 2016," he said. "Where will ‘happiness' figure in the 2017 calendar," the official was asked. He said the happiness scale is measured in different ways in many countries of the world. "At the General Entertainment Authority, we will have a clear indicator until 2020. We will announce it after choosing the concept of happiness. Honestly, our goal is that every Saudi family will have at least three options in their areas, which will be available during the weekends. These activities will be within the scope of their income and needs." On the activities planned for the year, Al-Madani said there will be free festivals, like the Jeddah Festival, to which an entertaining dimension will be added that includes many free activities for young people. Defending naming just one woman in the General Entertainment Authority, Al-Madani said Dr. Lama Suleiman is a "thorough professional woman and the number of women on the panel does not mean anything." He said: "We are proud that we are one of the government authorities that are mixed. We thank the emirs for their trust and support for the entertainment sector with a global system and a key role for Lama Suleiman. Women represent half of the society. They participate, invest and take active part in the community. There will be events targeting only women within Saudi society, as well as others mainly targeting the youth." Commenting on investment opportunities in the Kingdom's entertainment sector, Al-Madani said Huge projects like Six Flags need a lot of time. However, there is rapid growth in the Kingdom. Investors from all around the world are coming to Saudi Arabia. "We need to have clear laws and a fertile investment environment. We have a young generation that seeks to invest their time in a good way. For example, the reason why Six Flags planned to come to the Kingdom, was due to the economic model that is perfect. We are happy to have investors rushing to the Kingdom and we need to have a developed system whether on the level of licenses or mechanisms that preserve the right of the beneficiary in a greater way. This is the main role of the General Entertainment Authority." He said the commission was working on preparing the facilities and attracting partners. The investment in infrastructure is still being revised. "The success of the authority is not only linked to the success of the events, but also to that of the sector that is still growing," he said. On the contentious issue of cinema in the Kingdom, the official said the issue is being discusses at several angles. "Nothing has been decided yet," he said. "The cinema entertainment facility must be well organized in order to succeed and we have not started with it yet. I can only tell you that there are activities that are being studied, but there are no cinematic activities within the activities of the 2017 calendar," he added. Al-Madani said Mohammad Abdo's concert will take place in Jeddah very soon. Another one will be held in Riyadh and it is still being discussed. Concerts by other Saudi and Gulf artists will be included in the calendar but nothing could be specified yet.
