‘Choosing Riyadh to host Expo 2030 would be smart and visionary,’ former French Culture Minister Jack Lang tells Arab News en Francais

Jack Lang, a vocal supporter of cultural ties between France and Saudi Arabia, said staging the global event in Riyadh would have huge significance for the Arab region. (AFP)
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Updated 17 June 2023
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‘Choosing Riyadh to host Expo 2030 would be smart and visionary,’ former French Culture Minister Jack Lang tells Arab News en Francais

  • Arab World Institute president praises “cultural revolution” underway in Saudi Arabia as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets President Macron in Paris
  • Says hosting World Expo in the Kingdom’s “extraordinary capital” would have “great symbolic and emblematic significance”

PARIS: Riyadh would be a “smart and visionary choice” to host the World Expo in 2030, Jack Lang, president of the Arab World Institute and France’s former minister of culture, has told Arab News on the sidelines of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Paris this week.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met French President Emanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Friday to discuss efforts to strengthen Saudi-French relations and cooperation.

“This is an extremely important visit, and I am delighted that His Highness, the crown prince, is present in Paris,” Lang told Arab News at his 8th-floor office overlooking the Seine in Paris. 

“It’s a moment of friendship between France and Saudi Arabia, an opportunity for the French president and the most senior official in Saudi Arabia to discuss a whole range of current issues concerning international affairs.”




French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Elysee Palace in Paris on June 16, 2023. (AP)

Lang, who has long been a vocal supporter of close cultural ties between France and Saudi Arabia, said staging the global event in the Kingdom’s “extraordinary capital” would have huge symbolic significance for the Arab region and would highlight recent Saudi achievements. 

“Firstly, it is a great country, immense in its territory and population. It is a vibrant country with an active and creative youth, and women who are actively involved,” said Lang.

“I would say that the investment projects envisioned by the Saudi authorities are promising, promising for cultural development, promising for industrial and economic development.

“And beyond the present, Arabia has a history, a civilization, and powerful moments in the life of the world. I believe that dedicating the most important country in Arabia to this World Expo would have great symbolic and emblematic significance.

“Choosing Riyadh as the location for an upcoming World Expo would be a smart and visionary choice,” he added, calling the Kingdom “a great country of the future.”

Saudi Arabia has officially submitted its comprehensive application to host the World Expo 2030 in Riyadh. The event would take place from Oct. 1, 2030 to March 31, 2031, under the theme “The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow.” 




Members of the Enquiry Mission of the Bureau International des Expositions met with top Saudi ministers and experts last March to evaluate Riyadh’s candidacy for Expo 2030. (Supplied)

Following on the heels of Dubai 2020 and Osaka 2025, Riyadh proposes to host the 2030 Expo at a six million square meter site just north of the city. The crown prince will present the Saudi candidacy during the International Bureau of Exhibitions (BIE) meeting in Paris early next week. 

On Monday, Saudi Arabia is set to hold an official reception in the French capital for 179 countries as part of the Kingdom’s bid to host the Expo. Voting will take place next November to choose the host city for this global event. 

A high-ranking Saudi delegation, members of the international diplomatic corps based in Paris, ambassadors of countries accredited to UNESCO, representatives of major participating entities and projects, representatives of member states to the BIE, and senior French officials in the government and private sectors will participate in the reception. 

Alongside Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Italy, and Ukraine have also applied to host the World Expo. Held since 1851, the expos are the world’s largest platform to showcase the latest achievements and technologies and celebrate the cultural values that unite humanity. 

Saudi Arabia submitted its bid for the World Expo 2030 in October last year, in a letter sent by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the BIE. 




Members of the Bureau International des Expositions Enquiry Mission met Saudi ministers to discuss the Kingdom’s bid to host the Expo 2030 world fair. (SPA File Photo)

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the letter stated: “We live in an era of change and we face an unprecedented need for humanity’s collective action.” 

If Saudi Arabia is selected to host the event, authorities plan to turn Riyadh and the rest of the country into a world-class venue for global culture, connectivity, and climate action.  

Lang is especially keen to see Riyadh succeed in its bid because he believes it could open the way for even greater cooperation with France, particularly on cultural and architectural projects.

“If Riyadh is chosen, our Saudi friends, who desire, as they know how, to create the most beautiful World Expo, will seek the collaboration of French creators, architects, and engineers who are especially talented and experienced in designing large-scale projects,” he said, citing their work in AlUla, Paris, and elsewhere. 


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“The Arab World Institute was designed by a young architect whom I had chosen, Jean Nouvel. And since then, he has become a star, also sought after by the crown prince in AlUla and Riyadh. Other strong and powerful personalities can contribute their talents, energy, and abilities to the organization of the World Expo.”

During his Paris visit, the crown prince will also lead the Saudi delegation at the Saudi-French Summit to be held on June 19, and the summit for a multinational New Global Financial Pact, also held in Paris on June 23- 24.

Macron aims to build “a new contract between northern and southern countries to tackle the dual challenge of climate change and global inequalities,” according to the summit website. 

The summit was announced last fall during the UN Climate Change Conference, COP27, in Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh.




French President Emmanuel Macron announced the New Global Financial Pact summit to be held in Paris during the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on November 7, 2022. (Photo by Ludovic Marin/ AFP/ File)

Security, defense, and issues related to the clean energy transition were likely high on the agenda during Friday’s meeting between the crown prince and Macron. However, cultural and educational ties were no doubt also discussed.

“I imagine they will also discuss the very active cultural cooperation that exists between our two countries, such as AlUla or even the project to create the largest contemporary art museum in the Arab world at the IMA,” said Lang, who has led the diplomatic-cultural institution for a decade. 

“These are some of the projects that we are working on hand in hand with the Saudi authorities, and we are pleased to do so.”




A curator explains as French Culture Minister Franck Riester (R), Jack Lang of the Institute of the Arab World (2nd R) and Royal Commission for AlUla CEO Amr Al-Madani (C), visit the exhibition “AlUla: Wonder of Arabia” at the l'Institut du monde arabe (IMA) in Paris on October 7, 2019. (AFP)

Lang praised the “cultural revolution” underway in Saudi Arabia, which has been marked by the opening of performance venues and the promotion of whole new creative industries — unheard of just a few short years ago before the launch of Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s social reform and economic diversification agenda. 

“We in France, at least I can say that for myself at the IMA, have great admiration for what is currently being undertaken in Saudi Arabia,” said Lang. 

“The cultural revolution that is truly underway is visible everywhere in Jeddah, Riyadh, and the rest of the country. Museums, cinema, music, all the arts are in motion, and the Saudi youth are happy to participate in this great cultural movement.”

The IMA hosted the Saudi Cinema Night last May and “the unique and grand exhibition on AlUla (in 2019), inaugurated by Prince Badr (Saudi minister of culture),” which was extended for several months due to its success, said Lang.

“It is true that the Arab World Institute and its president, from day one, believed in the sincerity of the plans launched by the crown prince.” 

Lang will soon host an Arab film festival in cooperation with the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah. He says he is proud to have fostered cultural ties between France and Saudi Arabia at a time when others had doubts about such partnerships.

“Everyone was skeptical everywhere in Europe and around the world,” said Lang. 

“And moreover, on two or three occasions, the crown prince, whom I met, especially in AlUla, said to me, ‘Thank you for being the first in the world to believe in the truthfulness of our projects.’” 

 


Murdered Saudi student lawsuit against Airbnb now in federal court

Updated 5 sec ago
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Murdered Saudi student lawsuit against Airbnb now in federal court

  • Airbnb age policy led to Alwaleed Algheraibi’s death, lawyer tells Arab News
  • Convicted killer Nicole Marie Rodgers was 19 at time of Algheraibi’s murder

CHICAGO: A lawsuit filed in the Philadelphia courts against Airbnb Inc. by the parents of murdered Saudi Arabia student Alwaleed Algheraibi, 25, has been moved to the US federal courts, the family’s attorney confirmed on Thursday.

The case was recently removed at the request of Airbnb from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (Pennsylvania State Court) to Federal Court in Philadelphia, also known as the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Attorney Steve Harvey explained that the defendant has a right to be in federal court based on the citizenship of the parties – Algheraibi was a Saudi citizen, while his killer, Nicole Marie Rodgers, is African American.

The state lawsuit was filed on May 16, 2025, in the Philadelphia local courts by the victim’s father and mother, Abdullah and Eiman Algheraibi, who live in Riyadh. Airbnb is based in San Francisco, California.

The lawsuit alleges that a decision by Airbnb in October 2020 to change its policies to allow individuals younger than 21 to rent properties, created the circumstances in which the murder took place.

Rodgers was only 19 years of age when she rented the property, even though the property owner complained to Airbnb at the time that she did not want to rent to someone under the age of 21.

Had the policy not changed, Harvey argues in the lawsuit, Algheraibi would still be alive because the property owner would not have rented it to Rodgers.

“The parents of Alwaleed Algheraibi are suing Airbnb because they believe Airbnb should be held responsible for sending an Airbnb customer, 19-year-old Nicole Rodgers, to the house in Philadelphia where she brutally murdered their son for no apparent reason,” Harvey told Arab News.

“If it had not been for the Airbnb policy of forcing its hosts to accept guests under the age of 21, Alwaleed would be alive today. It was unreasonable for Airbnb to force the host to accept Rodgers.

“Airbnb knew or should have known that forcing hosts to accept guests as young as 18 could lead to problems, even serious problems like crime, violent crime, and even murder, not in every case or even in most cases but in some cases. This policy led to the death of an innocent young man.”

According to the lawsuit, the property owner previously had one of her properties damaged by an 18-year-old Airbnb guest. In response, the owner told Airbnb that she did not want to host anyone under age 21, Harvey said.

“She was told that based on the discrimination policy of the platform that if she were to ask guests their age or choose not to host them based on age then they could flag her (the owner) for discrimination and remove her from the platform,” the lawsuit states.

The property in question, a house, is located at 347 W. Hansberry Street in Philadelphia. Guests could stay in one of several individual rooms in the home and share common areas such as a bathroom.

Algheraibi “was not staying in the property through Airbnb, but instead was staying through an arrangement with the property manager, Gardith Edouard, a longtime Airbnb ‘host,’” the lawsuit states.

The killer, Rodgers, was staying in the property through an Airbnb booking on the third floor, while Algheraibi’s room was on the first floor.

Harvey said Algheraibi was in the US to get a degree in computer engineering from Chestnut Hill College, and was finishing his studies when he was murdered by Rodgers.

“Alwaleed was engaged to be married, and was looking forward to returning home to be with his fiance and his family. His family was expecting Alwaleed to come home in the coming months, but instead never saw him alive again.

“They suffer deep, even indescribable, anguish at the loss of their son in such a brutal, senseless, and avoidable, killing,” Harvey said.

“The evidence suggests that the killer lured Alwaleed to her third floor of the house on the pretense that she needed his help moving something out of her room. It’s a tragic irony that this young man died because he had the kindness to lend a hand to a stranger.”

Rodgers was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to 15 to 40 years in prison for the murder.

Airbnb did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Airbnb is one of the world’s largest property renters, with more than 8 million active listings worldwide, according to its website.


Medical specialists in Makkah save Egyptian pilgrim from losing eyesight

Updated 30 May 2025
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Medical specialists in Makkah save Egyptian pilgrim from losing eyesight

  • Patient suffered from retinal detachment accompanied by cataracts
  • After a one-day surgery, the patient continued with her Hajj rituals 

MAKKAH: Quick and precise intervention by a medical team at the Eye Health Center of King Abdullah Medical City in Makkah saved the sight of an Egyptian pilgrim who experienced sudden vision loss, Saudi health authorities announced on Thursday.

A series of examinations revealed that the patient was suffering from retinal detachment accompanied by cataracts, an emergency eye condition that can result in permanent vision loss if not treated promptly, said a Makkah Health Cluster statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

After a one-day surgery, the patient was discharged in stable condition and was able to continue with her Hajj rituals safely and with comfort.

"She is now receiving close medical follow-up to ensure retinal stability and gradual improvement in her vision," the health cluster said.

Each year, Saudi Arabia deploys around 50,000 healthcare and technical professionals to work 24 hours daily during Hajj to ensure the health and safety of pilgrims. 

Last year, the Ministry of Health said more than 142,000 pilgrims benefited from various healthcare services provided by health centers and hospitals. 

Of the number, 4,082 were admissions to hospitals and medical centers, out of which 24 open-heart surgeries, 249 cardiac catheterizations, and 1,006 dialysis sessions were rendered.


Saudi crown prince, Canadian prime minister discuss bilateral relations

Updated 30 May 2025
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Saudi crown prince, Canadian prime minister discuss bilateral relations

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney shared a call on Thursday and discussed bilateral relations.
They discussed prospects for cooperation between the two countries, and opportunities to develop and enhance it in all fields, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The pair also reviewed the situation in the Middle East, agreeing on the need for sustainable peace in the region.
Carney was victorious in a May election after taken over as prime minister in March following the resignation of his predecessor Justin Trudeau. 
The crown prince and Carney discussed energy security and deepening trade between Riyadh and Ottawa, according to a readout from the Canadian premier’s office. 
Both leaders agreed to remain in close contact, it read. 


Umm Al-Qura University: Training students to work with millions of Hajj pilgrims

Updated 30 May 2025
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Umm Al-Qura University: Training students to work with millions of Hajj pilgrims

  • Makkah-based institute plays significant role in developing Hajj experience under Saudi Vision 2030
  • One of the institute’s most important contributions is its seasonal field studies, says official

MAKKAH: As part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to improve the experience of Hajj, a specialized institute at Makkah’s Umm Al-Qura University is training thousands of professionals to work with the millions of pilgrims expected to travel to the two holy cities.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research plays a significant role in national development efforts under Vision 2030.

Director Khalid Al-Ghamdi spoke to Arab News about how the institute is working to improve the experience of the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.

“The institute remains a key driver in enhancing the pilgrimage experience through applied research and strategic capacity building,” Al-Ghamdi told Arab News.

“As an advanced scientific arm, it plays a vital role in improving the efficiency and safety of services at the Grand Mosque and the holy sites.”

HIGHLIGHTS

The institute also trains thousands of field personnel annually to serve pilgrims and Umrah performers, in roles including security and healthcare staff, drivers and volunteers.

Training is delivered through immersive rehearsals that closely mirror real-world conditions in the field.

The institute is a globally unique research center dedicated to serving a gathering of unparalleled scale and significance.

One of the institute’s most important contributions is its seasonal field studies, Al-Ghamdi said.

Carried out annually during the Hajj and Umrah seasons, these studies document and analyze real-time challenges in key areas such as crowd movement, transport flow, environmental hazards, emergency response and overall efficiency.

He added that the outcomes of these studies serve as a vital technical reference for authorities, offering data-driven recommendations that support more effective planning for future seasons — a crucial function as crowds throng at holy sites in high temperatures.

The institute also trains thousands of field personnel annually to serve pilgrims and Umrah performers, in roles including security and healthcare staff, drivers and volunteers.

Training is delivered through immersive rehearsals that closely mirror real-world conditions in the field.

The institute also operates in close coordination with various government entities, including the Ministry of Interior, Civil Defense and the Transport Authority, to align its training with official guidelines.

Al-Ghamdi also discussed the institute’s advisory role in shaping regulatory and operational frameworks for Hajj and Umrah services.

The advisory role includes evaluation studies and environmental impact assessments, which inform strategic decisions on infrastructure development and service quality enhancement.

The institute is a globally unique research center dedicated to serving a gathering of unparalleled scale and significance.

Its research priorities are uniquely tailored, setting it apart from its international counterparts through a specialized focus on the Hajj, the holy sites, the two holy cities and related areas including urban planning, environmental sustainability and humanitarian services.

Additionally, Umm Al-Qura University offers academic programs in medicine and administration, specifically designed to prepare students for managing the unique operational demands of the Hajj and Umrah seasons.
 


King Salman receives letter from Russian President Putin on Saudi-Russian ties

Updated 29 May 2025
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King Salman receives letter from Russian President Putin on Saudi-Russian ties

  • Message was delivered to Deputy Foreign Minister Walid bin Abdulkarim Al-Khuraiji during his meeting in Riyadh with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kozlov

RIYADH: King Salman received a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday regarding relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The message was delivered to Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji during his meeting in Riyadh with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kozlov.

The two officials reviewed Saudi-Russian relations and discussed regional and international developments, as well as ongoing diplomatic efforts on key issues, SPA added.