By Anas Alyusuf

JEDDAH — Over the weekend, a variety of festivities were held with gaiety and fervor to mark the celebrations of the 89th Saudi National Day, which falls on Monday (Sept. 23).

The Kingdom was awash in green as people rejoiced the Kingdom's founding in 1932 with impromptu gatherings and collective revelries that recalled the historic moments that shaped this great nation. They also attended in droves the festivities earmarked for them in various areas and cities.

For the first time, the country announced the National Day Season, overseen by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), to conduct entertainment activities, events, and music concerts all over the country.

Also, GEA has announced the launch of three international performances — in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam — that were specially designed for this occasion.

Young boys and girls were seen wearing green-color attires in a display of their pride for the national flag and their country. Youths had decked up their vehicles in green.

The Saudi national flag was much in demand. Green flags covered the cities, as did posters of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense.

King Salman received cables of congratulations from leaders of friendly countries on the National Day.

Those who sent cables of congratulations included President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Deputy Emir and Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Sultan Qaboos of Oman, King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad Bin Issa Al-Khalifa, Yemini President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

GEA Chief Executive Officer Amr Banaja, recently, had announced the details of the season’s activities at a press conference. Many events like fireworks, concerts, festivals, and international performances have been designed specifically for this occasion.

And people have gone in droves to the various festivities to enjoy their time out during the four-day holidays.

Banaja said the season was inspired by the words of the Crown Prince (“The strength of the Saudis is like that of the Tuwaiq mountain").

"This year fireworks celebrations will continue for several days where pyrotechnics, with more than 700,000 shots, will be visible at an altitude of up to 300 meters. It will be accompanied by music," he said.

Dazzling fireworks will light up the Jeddah skies over Al-Hamra Corniche during "Star Island" event creating beautiful patterns accompanied by sound and light effects and laser shows.

Eight concerts are being held in several regions of the Kingdom where — besides international stars — Saudi and Gulf artists are presenting beautiful songs laced with patriotism.

Although the Kingdom faced an incident last week when Iranian ballistic missiles and drones attacked two of Aramco's oil facilities, Saudi Arabia quickly overcame that and is on the way of celebrating the 89th National Day without letting this incident stop the Kingdom’s journey.

Meanwhile, this year’s celebration comes with vast leaps of reforms with women empowerment to the fore — especially with the adult women being allowed to travel without seeking approval from a male guardian, a flagship reform as Saudi Arabia seeks to align itself with the Vision 2030 goals.