A security committee will be set up to supervise all events of the Jeddah summer festival and resolve possible disputes between event organizers and government officials or members of the public. This was disclosed at a press conference here Sunday by the head of the hospitality and tourism committee of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Khaled Al-Harithy was responding to a question about steps taken by the JCCI to address objections from members of the Commission for the Promotion for Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai'a) to playing music at the venues of the event. The Hai'a had opposed playing loud music during previous festivals. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region, will inaugurate this year's festival Wednesday. Al-Harithy said all scheduled events had already been approved by the municipality and the governorate, and the organizers could proceed with their activities as planned. “As long as the organizers have the approval they can go ahead with the events. There will be a security committee that will be in charge of resolving any disputes that may arise between organizers, government officials and visitors,” Al-Harithy explained. Some of the organizers called for rebranding the festival as the current slogan, “Jeddah Ghair,” has had a negative connotation. “Jeddah Ghair” had been jokingly used to refer to the mismanagement by local authorities in the aftermath of the Jeddah floods and the poor state of municipal services. “We have organized workshops and tried to exert every effort to bring back trust to Jeddah Ghair. This year we have new organizing and supervising teams, and we will welcome feedbacks from the public in evaluating events and improving the services offered,” said Al-Harithy. He said the festival organizers had unsuccessfully tried to bring back the Jeddah book fair this summer. He assured the city will have the book fair next year. Al-Harithy said no festival activity has been scheduled to take place on the Corniche as the area is still under development. The festival will have more than 150 events and activities for families, children and youths, said JCCI Secretary General Adnan Mandoura. They include marvelous shopping opportunities, a circus, sports and cultural activities, among others. Mandoura said the activities will be located in different areas to reduce traffic congestion. He said all arrangements have been made for the festival that will last for 37 days. Answering a question about the increase of prices of rented apartments and chalets in summer, Mandoura said the organizers have contacted business owners to offer maximum discounts. “But this is a high season and it would be difficult to convince business owners to reduce their prices when the demand is very high,” added Mandoura. __
