Night of Bangladeshi culture attracts 12,000-strong sell-out crowd to Jeddah’s Prince Majed Park

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More than 12,000 had turned up to enjoy the Bangladeshi entertainment and cultural event at Jeddah’s Prince Majed Park. (Ali Khamaj for Arab News)
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More than 12,000 had turned up to enjoy the Bangladeshi entertainment and cultural event at Jeddah’s Prince Majed Park. (Ali Khamaj for Arab News)
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More than 12,000 had turned up to enjoy the Bangladeshi entertainment and cultural event at Jeddah’s Prince Majed Park. (Ali Khamaj for Arab News)
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More than 12,000 had turned up to enjoy the Bangladeshi entertainment and cultural event at Jeddah’s Prince Majed Park. (Ali Khamaj for Arab News)
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Updated 04 June 2022
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Night of Bangladeshi culture attracts 12,000-strong sell-out crowd to Jeddah’s Prince Majed Park

  • The evening, which was part of Jeddah Season 2022, included a DJ set along with a variety of shows, folk dancing, musical performances and other cultural events, attractions and activities

JEDDAH: A night devoted to Bangladeshi culture attracted a sell-out crowd of more than 12,000 people to Jeddah’s Prince Majed Park on Friday, organizers said.

The evening began at 6 p.m. with a 60-minute DJ set and the entertainment continued until 12.15 a.m., featuring a number of shows, folk dancing displays and musical performances. The singers included Saleem and his band, Imran Khan and his band, Ishrat, and Jasmin Putul.

Putul told Arab News she was very grateful to the Saudi government, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for providing this cultural platform for Bangladeshis during Jeddah Season. She thanked the authorities on behalf of all the talents who performed at the event.

Sattam Mannaa, the park’s media coordinator, confirmed that more than 12,000 had turned up to enjoy the Bangladeshi entertainment and cultural events. Some people reportedly were seen queuing outside the park, unable to get in because all the tickets had been handed out.

Visitor Mustafa Khan, a journalist from Pakistan, said the event was very good, adding: “I am very thankful to the Saudi government and authorities for providing us with this opportunity to get together and share cultures and views. We hope such events will continue in the future as well.

“And we really love (the Kingdom) the same as our own country. We love it from the bottom of our hearts. Saudi Arabia is the home of Islam. We love Saudi Arabia and always will.”

Mohammed Firoz, a Bangladeshi journalist, told Arab News that the Saudi government provides great opportunities for people from other countries who live in the Kingdom to showcase their national cultures and traditions.

“Every one today enjoyed Bangladeshi culture,” he said. “These people also enjoyed the (previous) Pakistani, Indian and Indonesian cultural programs. They will also enjoy the forthcoming Philippines cultural events. In fact, these are very successful events.”

Prince Majed Park is one of nine zones hosting events during the 2022 Jeddah Season, and the activities there are aimed at families in particular. The entertainment in the 84,000-square-meter park includes live shows, a special children’s play area, shops, a horror house experience, as well as the weekly nights focusing on the cultures of other nations.

At least 12,000 people visit the park, free of charge, every day, organizers said, but the number has exceeded 20,000 on some weekend days.

Across all its zones, this year’s Jeddah Season has attracted more than two million visitors so far, officials said, including thousands of international tourists.


DJ Peggy Gou makes waves in the Middle East, eyes collaborations with Arab artists

Updated 01 May 2024
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DJ Peggy Gou makes waves in the Middle East, eyes collaborations with Arab artists

ABU DHABI: South Korean DJ and singer Peggy Gou is no stranger to the Middle East. She wowed fans this week at the Louvre Abu Dhabi in the UAE, performing in celebration of the newly opened exhibition “From Kalila wa Dimna to La Fontaine: Travelling through Fables,” and revealed that she would consider collaborating with Arab artists.

She told Arab News the morning after the event: “I woke up this morning and was thinking what happened last night. It is one of those events that is so meaningful. I’ve been to Abu Dhabi twice just to see the exhibitions. It’s more than a museum to me. It is a community, where people even go to hang out. That’s how beautiful that place is.”

Gou was among the first performers to take the stage at the Louvre Abu Dhabi in front of an audience, she said.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Peggy Gou (@peggygou_)

“I know David Guetta did it once before without an audience during COVID-19 … It was my first time playing in Abu Dhabi. It was insane. It was a very, very special night, and I want to do more,” she added. 

Gou incorporates Arab-inspired music into her performances, noting that “people just love it, and they love percussion.”

To the artist, music is like a feeling. “It is really hard to rationalize it,” she said. “When you love it, you just love it,” she added, expressing her admiration for Arab melodies.

“This is maybe the reason why people support my music, even though they don’t understand the language. Sometimes they just feel it, they just love it,” she explained. 

“I love our music, but at the same time, I’m considering collaborating with an Arab artist because there are a lot of talented Arab musicians here,” she said. “I have many friends here who recommended me some artists, and I want to check it out.

“I never say no. I love making music with different languages.” 

Gou has performed in Saudi Arabia multiple times.

“Every time I go there, it’s different. But what I can say is it’s always changing in a good way. In the very beginning, I felt like they weren’t going to understand my music,” she recalled.

But the DJ said that her last performance in AlUla was one of her favorites. “People were just shouting, screaming, and dancing as if there was no tomorrow,” she said.


Amy Schumer revisits stance on Israel’s war against Gaza in new interview

Updated 01 May 2024
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Amy Schumer revisits stance on Israel’s war against Gaza in new interview

DUBAI: US comedian-actress Amy Schumer has clarified her stance on Israel’s ongoing war against Gaza after receiving backlash for her social media posts about the conflict.

Speaking to Variety, Schumer said that while she supports the Jewish people, she does not agree with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I don’t agree with anything that Netanyahu is doing, and neither do the Israelis I know,” she said. “Of course, what’s going on in Gaza is sickening, horrifying and unthinkable. And I don’t think it’s OK to hate anyone because they were born Jewish.

“It’s gotten to this place,” Schumer added, “where you can’t speak up for other Jews without people feeling like it’s a slight to the conditions in Gaza.”

Since the events of Oct. 7, Schumer has used her official Instagram page to campaign on behalf of Israel’s operation and call for the release of hostages held in Gaza.

She is also among more than 700 Hollywood figures, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Gal Gadot and Jerry Seinfeld, who have signed an open letter from the Creative Community for Peace in support of Israel.
 


‘Chicago’ musical to hit the stage in the UAE

Updated 30 April 2024
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‘Chicago’ musical to hit the stage in the UAE

DUBAI: “Chicago,” the American musical with the longest Broadway tenure, is set to be performed in the UAE in September.  

The musical will hit the stage at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena for a limited run from Sept.12-22.

“Chicago” is a tale of passion, murder, greed, betrayal and redemption through the journey of two competitive women – an aspiring jazz performer, Roxie Hart, and a former vaudeville star, Velma Kelly. 

The production spawned numerous beloved tunes such as “All That Jazz,” “Cell Block Tango” and "Razzle Dazzle.”

Since its premiere on Broadway New York 27 years ago, “Chicago” has played in major cities around the world like London, Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul, Paris, Berlin and Madrid.


Emily Blunt, Ryan Gosling laud stunt performers in ‘The Fall Guy’

Updated 30 April 2024
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Emily Blunt, Ryan Gosling laud stunt performers in ‘The Fall Guy’

TEXAS: Hollywood stars Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling pay tribute to stunt actors in a film by director David Leitch, who himself started as a stunt actor. Loosely based on the 1980s TV series about stunt performers, “The Fall Guy,” which releases in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, is billed as blending humor, romance, mystery, and action.

“It's a celebration of our incredible industry and this film is about that, but it's really to just broadcast the incredible and indelible work of stunt performers and what they've done for cinema,” Blunt said in an interview with Arab News.

“What they've done for people's entertainment … they've risked life and limb to give people that crackling sense of wonder that you feel in movies and it's time they got their outing,” she added.

In a challenge to the invasion of digital effects in film, not only is “The Fall Guy’ packed with stunts but it has officially set a Guinness World Record for the most cannon rolls in a car, performed by stunt driver Logan Holladay. Eight-and-a-half rolls broke the previous record of seven, set by Adam Kirley for 2006’s “Casino Royale.”

Gosling praised the film for giving a platform to stunt performer.

“I had a stunt double my whole life. And it's always been this strange dynamic where they come in, they do all the cool stuff, and then they go and hide and you pretend like you did it and it's not cool, it's about time that recognize (their work),” he said.

The film follows the story of Colt Sievers, a stuntman who left his job to focus on his own health. When the star of a big-budget movie directed by his ex-girlfriend goes missing, he is recalled to active duty.

“Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham also stars in the film. The British actress shed light on what the movie means to her.

“You know, we shot it this time last year in Sydney. Starting in late November, October time. So to finally be here, I feel like I've had to keep a lid on it for so long. And my brother and I were obsessed with “The Fall Guy” when I was little, when I was like ten years old so it's so lovely,” she said.


Nadine Labaki joins Cannes Film Festival jury

Updated 29 April 2024
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Nadine Labaki joins Cannes Film Festival jury

DUBAI: Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki will serve as a jury member at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, running from May 14 – 25, jury president Greta Gerwig announced.

Other members of the jury include Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan; US actress Lily Gladstone; French actress Eva Green; Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona; Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino; Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu; and French actor-producer Omar Sy.

The jury will take on the job of bestowing the coveted Palme d’Or upon one of the 22 films in competition.

Labaki, recipient of the Jury Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for “Capernaum,” shares a long history with the festival.

 Labaki began her relationship with Cannes in 2004, writing and developing her first feature, “Caramel,” at the Cinéfoundation Residency before showcasing the film at the Director’s Fortnight in 2007. Both of Labaki’s subsequent films — “Where do We Go Now?” in 2011 and “Capernaum” in 2018 — debuted at the festival, each in increasingly competitive categories.

“I feel like I’m their baby, in a way. With a baby you start watching their first steps, see them grow, protect them, push them… They’ve accompanied me in this journey, and recognized and encouraged me. It’s great — I really love this festival. I think it’s the best festival in the world,” Labaki told Arab News in an earlier interview on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival in 2019.

Nadine Labaki with "Capernaum" star Zain Al-Rafeea in California. (File/Getty Images)

“Capernaum” also went on to be nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, with Labaki becoming the first woman from the Arab world to receive that honor.

This won’t be the first time Labaki is serving on a Cannes jury either. In 2018, Labaki was the president of the Un Certain Regard jury, the first Arab to do so.

“I don’t watch films as a filmmaker. Never,” she said at the time. “I watch the film as a human being… I don’t like the word jury. I don’t like to judge because I’ve been there. I’ve been in those very difficult situations, very fragile situations, where you’re making a film, where you’re doubting, where you don’t know, where you don’t have enough distance with what you’re doing, and you don’t have the right answers and you’re not taking the right decisions.”

Meanwhile, Moroccan director, screenwriter and producer Asmae El-Moudir will be part of the Un Certain Regard jury at the festival this year.

She will be joined by French Senegalese screenwriter and director Maïmouna Doucouré, German Luxembourg actress Vicky Krieps and American film critic, director, and writer Todd McCarthy.

Xavier Dolan will be the president of the Un Certain Regard jury.

The team will oversee the awarding of prizes for the Un Certain Regard section, which highlights art and discovery films by emerging auteurs, from a selection of 18 works, including eight debut films.