Jeddah – Due to the lack of entertainment facilities in Jeddah, young Saudis have taken matters into their own hands by creating a comedy club and hosting other different activities around the city. Hoping to end boredom, Yiji, an entertainment company that works in activities and tourism, was launched at Jeddah Youth Business Committee Exhibition in October 2012 by Anmar Fathaldin and Bader Redwan. Jeddah has the potential to become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Middle East and North Africa region, said the company. According to Fathaldin, at Yiji they want to build on this potential and then exploit it. The word Yiji is slang used by Hijazis (people of the Western Region) to express excitement. Fathaldin is known for being one of the co-founders of UTURN Entertainment, a company that produces YouTube shows, while Redwan is the managing partner at NsideOut, an event management company. Fathaldin said: “I am still a partner at UTURN, but I don't have any day-to-day responsibilities so I am not an employee there anymore. I am fully focused on Yiji.” Saudi Arabia does not have cinemas or other outlets for different activities, so Fathaldin said there is a huge market gap. “I don't think there is something called Saudi entertainment yet. “We as a society need to create that culture and industry of entertainment. “Saudis travel abroad to have fun. Things here will have to pick up, we have a huge demand for entertainment and the supply is very low. “Cinemas don't exist so businessmen will think of more creative and more culturally appropriate outings as a substitute to the night life in other societies and people will go out more instead of going to restaurants.” People in Jeddah are striving to do something different other than going to restaurants or private beaches. Being able to watch a standup comedy show every Thursday is something to look forward to. Through Yiji, the Jeddah Comedy Club was established and provides standup comedy. Yaser Bakr, who hosts a sports' show on YouTube, approached Yiji with the idea of creating a comedy club that gives a chance to aspiring comedians and at the same time offers a place for existing comedians to practice and try out new routines. Fathaldin said: “We want Jeddawis to have a good time on Thursday nights other than going to the beach or restaurants.” “We loved the idea and started working on it alongside with Bakr.” Jeddah Comedy Club holds auditions for aspiring comedians before the best ones are chosen by a panel of established comedians. In addition to the chosen ones, they pick two well-known comedians to perform on a Thursday evening. Fathaldin said: “So far, we have had three amazing nights and we will hold 20 nights in 2013.” All the events are supported and approved by the Saudi Society of Culture and Art (SASCA), represented by Abdullah Al-Ta'azi and Mahmoud Shargway, who were extremely cooperative according to Fathaldin. “They met with us and gave permission to create the comedy club, so this is done with SASCA, which is an official organization authorized by the government to hold such events. “We at Yiji would like to thank SASCA because without their cooperation this could not have happened.” Since Yiji was recently established, the company is still planning to hold more events and activities. Their next step is creating a monthly treasure hunt competition for all Jeddawis, similar to The Amazing Race. Where teams will compete to go around all of Jeddah to reach their final destination and win a prize. Yiji also wants to hold a Jeddah beach football tournament. Fathaldin explained that the company wants to provide more tourism services for visitors coming from outside Jeddah such as Red Sea cruises with fishing, diving and snorkeling, desert getaways, and cultural nights and tours in Jeddah's Al-Balad district and other historical areas.
