RIYADH: The launch of Saudi Arabia’s main film festival has been postponed to next week due to a sandstorm, organisers said Thursday.
The opening of the fourth Saudi Film Festival, slated to run from March 23-28 in the Gulf coastal city of Dhahran, was suspended after the storm hit the kingdom earlier this week.
The festival will now open on Monday and run for six days.
This is the third consecutive annual film festival in Saudi Arabia after a hiatus of seven years.
The kingdom late last year began a cautious push to introduce entertainment, despite opposition from Muslim hardliners.
Among the events on offer for Saudi spectators have been the New York theatrical group iLuminate, the Comic-Con pop culture festival, and WWE wrestling.
Saudi Arabia, where public cinemas are banned, has created a government agency to support private firms organising entertainment events, under a wide-ranging “Vision 2030” plan for economic and social reform.
