Sports | Sunday 9 December, 2018 2:33 am |

Set to be the biggest festival of racing, live music, culture and entertainment ever witnessed in Saudi Arabia, the ‘Saudia’ Ad Diriyah E-Prix is fast approaching. In addition to lightning fast electric race cars and global superstars like Enrique Iglasias, David Guetta, Amr Diab and Black Eyed Peas, there will be entertainment activities for everyone. CEO of the General Entertainment Authority Mr. Amr Banaja, tells us everything we need to know before going.

This festival is a historic first in the Kingdom. How do you go about shaping the entertainment for something unprecedented? 

The ‘Saudia’ Ad Diriyah E-Prix will be visited by tens of thousands of people every day. Our wish is to create great entertainment for everyone of all ages, backgrounds and tastes, so the events will include a wide range of activities, from stunning live performances to traditionally-themed interactions, ensuring all visitors have an experience they will remember.

We are constructing world-class entertainment zones to showcase all the fantastic things Saudi Arabia has to offer, so that spectators have a memorable festive experience just as good as what they would have if the race was staged in Monaco.

What does the location, a UNESCO world heritage site, mean for the entertainment?

Since the event is taking place in Ad Diriyah, the first capital of the Saudi state, wehave focused on one thing when designing our activities: giving visitors the opportunity to have an authentic, traditional experience. 

One of the attractions will be ‘Beit Mubarak’, a traditional Saudi house setting. It will feature morning coffee ritual, live ‘rababa’ music performances, traditional games, henna drawing, live traditional cooking and classic restaurants where visitors can taste great Saudi cuisine. 

So, you want to achieve something more than just entertaining people for a weekend?

While presenting world-class entertainment offerings for a global audience, we are at the same time preserving and showcasing our heritage and taking pride in our national identity. 

We want to seize the fantastic opportunity presented by this historic event to highlight our rich and beautiful culture and promote the Kingdom as a welcoming, warm and hospitable nation.  

We seek to always have our identity and traditions at the heart of what we do as we work to build vibrant, high quality entertainment in the Kingdom.

This event is open to women, men, old and young, so is it for families as well?

Yes, everyone is welcome, and we want everyone to be entertained. I am happy to say that we are creating an array of family friendly entertainment activations on the side lines of the racing event. 

Families can enjoy live music, games, carnival displays, a children’s play area, live performances and a festive food truck street.  The goal is to create a sphere where both parents and children can have fun together.

Are there any entertainment plans you look particularly forward to?

Each event designed for the Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix will have its own unique flavour, to show different sides of the flourishing Saudi entertainment scene. However, I must say we will be very proud of showcasing our rich Saudi tradition and culture through the ‘Beit Mubarak’, especially to all our foreign visitors travelling from all over the world to visit us. It will give them an immersive national heritage experience and promote Saudi culture in fun and interactive ways.

Tickets for the ‘Saudia’ Ad Diriyah E-Prix are on sale at www.fiaformulae.com/AdDiriyah,starting from only SAR395.

The ‘Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix’ is the first of 10 in a 10-year partnership between ABB FIA Formula E, the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia (GSA) and the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF).

For more information about ‘Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix’ including schedule and ticket packages, please visit www.fiaformulae.com/AdDiriyah.