The leaders of Saudi Arabia in their effort to diversify the economy and change the conservative image of the country lifted the ban just a few years back. And this year, the MDLBeast Soundstorm music festival has also come as evidence of their mindset to change the stereotypical thoughts among others about the Arabian countries. At the EDM music festival, many renowned artists like superstar French DJ David Guetta performed despite the boycott call over the human rights issue. Over the four days of the program, the festival generated a recording crowd of over 732,000. In a word, it can be said that the acceptance of the new culture of music festivals is massive among the people of Saudi.
Moreover, the number of casualties of coronavirus in Saudi Arabia is 8860, the highest of all Arabian countries. Even, the spike in the number of omicron cases is high. In such a serious time, the citizens of the country gathered and enjoyed the festival, a sign of their acceptance toward the newly availed culture of the EDM festival. “Over the four days, 732,000 people flocked to the event, “one of the largest music festivals in the world,”- The head of Saudi’s General Entertainment Authority Turki al-Sheikh said.
The festival, since its launch, has seen a large number of crowds, to the happiness and satisfaction of the organizers and performers. Even, one Saudi woman said that she had never seen such a beautiful festival with music, dance, and performances in her life. She also shared her astonishment by seeing such a large audience for the first time in a public interview. Furthermore, the festival, since its launch in 2019, has given people moments of enjoyment, freely mingling of women, and dancing to the beats of western music. Overall, the festival achieves success owing to the performances and engagement of the people implicitly.
The rise of the crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in 2017 brought some cultural reforms. It brought the eradication of the ban on women’s driving and allowed other events along with mixed-gender concerts. It can be said that the leaders want to abolish the worldwide image of the country, by easing the unnecessary restrictions on the citizens. The DJ David Guetta who raised questions on the human rights issues of the country was called to perform as a signifier of the ongoing cultural and social changes of the country. Even, for the women who spoke anonymously, however, would be beneficial with such events.
