(MENAFN) Saudi entertainment chief, Ahmed Al Khatib announced on Thursday the authority's entertainment calendar in the capital Riyadh. "Implementation has begun and we will continue until we achieve the highest standards in the world," Al-Khatib said, adding that it plans to invest USD64 billion in the entertainment sector in the next 10 years.
A number of steps have been made to liberalize the ultra-conservative Muslim country. In December, it was announced the first movie theaters will open in 2018-with cinemas having been banned since the 1980s. Announcing the move, Minister for Culture and Information Awwad bin Saleh Alawwad said he expected the theaters to open in March.
The proposal to lift the ban has been condemned by powerful religious officials, who say that films can be "immoral, atheistic or rotten" and have the potential "to open doors to evil."
That "Don Giovanni," "The Marriage of Figaro" or the "Barber of Seville" could soon be soaring through the rafters of a new Riyadh opera house is down to Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030' project, the plan to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil.
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