RIYADH — The Saudi Arts Council is looking into licensing the establishment of a musical institute, according to the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority Turki Al-Alsheikh.

“I want to announce a surprise. The art council, part of the cultural authority, is studying the possibility of issuing a permit to establish a musical institution, by the will of God, soon,” Al-Alsheikh said during an honoring ceremony for the late Saudi singer Abu Bakr Salem.

The honoring ceremony was sponsored by the chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority.

In a short video of the announcement, the cheerful audience can be heard voicing their support of such a decision.

The Kingdom has long had renowned singers who are popular in the region but having a musical institution that allows people to learn playing instruments and cultivates the practice would be a first in Saudi Arabia. — Al-Arabiya English