Saudi Arabia to build opera house in bid to shed conservative image, lure tourists

Saudi Arabia, a state where concerts are banned and music is prohibited in restaurants and stores, says construction will begin on the kingdom's first-ever opera house as it moves to shake off its conservative image and lure in tourist dollars.

The kingdom has been relaxing its decades-old restrictions on entertainment and fun, as part of a wider effort spearheaded by the young crown prince to boost the economy and increase household spending domestically.

The state says itwill stage more than5,000 shows, festivals and concerts in 2018, double the numberof last year. And next month, the kingdom is planning to open the country's first movie theatre after a more than 35-year-ban.

'The bridge is starting to reverse'

Thursday's announcement says the opera house will be built in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on the kingdom's western coast. The city, a gateway for millions of Muslim pilgrims from around the world, is seen as more liberal and ethnically diverse than the landlocked capital of Riyadh.

In December,U.S. rapper Nelly performed in Jeddah, albeit toa men-only crowd, and Greek musician Yanni played to a
mixed-gender audience.

The gradual relaxing of gender segregation risks a backlashfrom religious conservatives but public objections to a wider
programme of reforms have been more muted in recent months afterseveral critics were arrested.

At an event to launch the 2018 entertainment calendar, Ahmedal-Khatib, chairman of the state-run General EntertainmentAuthority (GEA), said infrastructure investments over the nextdecade would reach $64 billion, includingthe opera house to be completed around 2022.

That will generate 224,000 new jobs by 2030, the GEA said.

"The bridge is starting to reverse," Khatib said, referringto the causeway linking Saudi Arabia with more liberal Bahrainwhere many Saudis flock for weekend getaways.

Cinemas expected to open in March

"And I promise you that we will reverse this migration, andpeople from Dubai, Kuwait and Bahrain will come to Saudi."

The entertainment plans are largely motivated by economics,part of a reform programme to diversify the economy from oil andcreate new sectors to employ young Saudis.

The Vision 2030 plan aims to increase household spending oncultural and entertainment events inside the kingdom to sixper cent by 2030 from 2.9 per cent.

"We are creating new local events with local content," hesaid. "Almost 80 per cent of the calendar (events) are forfamilies."

Saudi Arabia lifted its decades-old ban on cinemas late lastyear, with plans for regional and global chains to open more
than 300 movie theatres by 2030. The first cinemas are expectedto start showing films from March.

Last year the country announced plans to develop resorts onsome 50 islands off the Red Sea coast and an entertainment citysouth of Riyadh featuring golf courses, car racing tracks and aSix Flags theme park.