Giant Rave In Saudi Desert Pushes Kingdom’s Changing Boundaries

The party in the Saudi desert looked like a other rave until the music stopped for Islamic calls to pray, leaving participants in thin jeans and combat to stand still.
Fifteen minutes later – the task of religion was completed – thousands of party visitors returned to business. Men and women dance by leaving in a country where it will not be thought of five years ago.

The electronic music festival in Saudi Arabia this weekend highlighted changes to soaring across the conservative kingdom under the controversial crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. In just a few years, the Prince has raised a ban on driving women, driving a gender separation and confusing religious police, who usually roam the streets that carry music playing music.

Conversely, a four-day festival called MDL Beast Soundstorm is supported by the government and includes performances by global DJs such as Tiesto and Armin van Buuren. Organizers said more than 180,000 people attended the opening night, pushing boundaries as the kingdom changed.

“Allow US progress, allow us to represent ourselves in a way that we feel suitable,” said Prince Fahad Al Saud, a member of the royal family and employers who attended the psychedelic jacket and sparkling eyeliner. “We really want to be part of the international community, but we cannot be fulfilled every time we try to make progress because it doesn’t look like what you want to see.”

Indeed, this festival is part of a dizzying month where Saudi Arabia has hosted the Formula One race, two two-year-old separate art and visit by French President Emmanuel Macron. All of that underlined the fact that every greeting on the world stage had passed for Prince Mohammed, who faced global anger after the murder of the criticism of the Government of 2018 Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agent in Istanbul.

Prince’s plan to diversify economic calls that depend on oil to develop new sectors such as entertainment and tourism. And after closing the royal border on many pandemic Coronavirus, officials seemed eager to redeem the lost time – even when the omicron variant of the virus drive a surge in another country.

At the international film festival recently in Jeddah, the woman stepped on a red carpet in a sleeveless dress and a strange man, Adam Ali, won the best actor. The British Supermodel Naomi Campbell was photographed sitting on the floor in front of a traditional Saudi eating, eating with his hands.

“Now everything is here and the world has come to us,” Amazed Abdullah Alghamdi, 29, who attended the weekend rave. “To be honest there are many events that you don’t know where to go.”

Queer culture.

The scene at the music festival is the most extreme. Women show off their style, wear everything ranging from skinties to full robes and face veils. Drunk people accidentally stumble through a crowd with different marijuana aromas, along with a limited and famous local strange culture. Alcohol and homosexuality are still illegal in Saudi Arabia, but the incident creates an atmosphere such as carnival, opening space to test the limit.

Each important sound is mostly silent. Under Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s social opening has come with harsh acts about domestic dissent. Driving the fact that the house, officials closed every other large-scale event in Riyadh “for maintenance” during the festival, triggered Sardonic jokes about the government which forced people to attend.

But for Ibrahim Fahad, a 21-year-old tourism and hospitality student, the festival was a long-awaited dream.

“I can’t even describe my feelings,” he said, posing for pictures as bass pounded in the background. “Before the music was opened in Saudi Arabia, I used to travel to see artists like Chainsmokers. Now I can stay at home, because they are here.”