Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Ministry of Culture has fixed November 2020 as the date for the 35th edition of the National Festival of Heritage and Culture (Janadriyah) after taking over the supervision of the festival from the Ministry of the National Guard last July.

The festival will unveil the depth of the Kingdom’s rich culture to visitors from different countries of the world.

The Ministry of Culture has started elaborate preparations and arrangements to offer an excellent cultural experience in a way complementing the successes of the festival in its previous editions.

The festival, which is the most important national event held annually to express Saudi history and prosperity, offers various events and activities, from the opening ceremony to folklore arts, operetta, seminars, cultural, literary and sport events, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Abdul Karim Al-Humaid, spokesman of the ministry, said that the ministry seeks to develop the cultural content of the festival and provide various activities and programs that reflect the depth of the national heritage, keeping pace with the G-20 summit, which will be hosted by the Kingdom simultaneously.

“Since taking over the supervision of the festival last July, the ministry has been working, in coordination with many relevant parties, to develop a comprehensive vision for the next session of the festival and carry out study about the prospect of increasing the days of its operational period.

This is part of a three-year strategic plan to improve the festival so as to ensure that it appears in a manner appropriate to the elevated status of the Kingdom, realizing the aspirations of various segments of the Saudi society,” he said.

Al-Humaid said the ministry has started organizing a series of meetings and workshops with experts and intellectuals to discuss ways of developing the festival and enriching it with cultural content to keep pace with the cultural renaissance experienced by the Kingdom in the light of Vision 2030.

“These discussions and workshops will be continued over the coming few months so as to expand the scope of the mutual discussion between the ministry and experts representing different social strata.”

Al-Humaid pointed out that the process of transferring all the organizational files of the festival from the relevant authorities to the Ministry of Culture is going smoothly and effectively and will be completed well before the next festival.

It is noteworthy that the next session of the festival will be the first organized by the Ministry of Culture, after the 34 previous sessions had been organized by the Ministry of National Guard starting from 1985.

The vibrant Janadriyah festival is a huge showcase of the Kingdom’s rich heritage and culture, celebrating the cultural traditions that unite this great country, while also revealing the regional differences, which provides the distinctive character of the Saudi identity.

The festival is a national beacon that reflected the country’s heritage and history, and recorded a distinguished presence at the local and international levels.

The festival witnessed visit of leaders of countries and senior officials and intellectuals from different parts of the world during its three and a half decades of history. The 34th edition of the festival was held from Dec. 20, 2018, till Jan. 9, 2019.