Riyadh Festival opens today

Riyadh Emir Prince Faisal Bin Bandar will open the 12th edition of Riyadh Shopping and Entertainment Festival at Al-Othaim Center Mall on Wednesday evening.

The 30-day festival with 150 activities will provide seasonal jobs for a large number of Saudis and offer discounts ranging between 30 and 70 percent from major companies.

The festival is organized by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) in cooperation with the Riyadh Municipality, Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), and Riyadh Tourism Development Board (RTDB).

Abdurahman Al-Zamil, president of RCCI, said that the major highlights of this year’s festival are the launch of the largest balloon carrying the photo of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Festival Caravan, reintroducing tourism bus service to take visitors to major tourist and heritage landmarks in the city, in addition to a wide variety of shopping and recreation programs and events for families and children, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Gifts and prizes valued SR3 million will be given to winners at festival events.

Al-Zamil said that cultural, recreational and awareness programs and activities will have a focus on highlighting the role of family in society.

Meanwhile, the three-day Jeddah Eid Festival “Eiduna Kida” attracted more than 11,000 visitors during the first two days. Around 1,300 young Saudi men and women volunteers managed the 272-hour festival which will conclude on Wednesday. The festival followed the ‘Ramadanuna Kida’ festival which drew more than 600,000 visitors from within the Kingdom and outside.

Also, a large number of visitors gathered at Al-Souda Tourism Village on the first day of the heritage festival on Monday. Visitors from various parts of the Kingdom and neighboring Gulf states flocked to this summer tourism destination close to Abha in the southern Asir province.

Nice weather and moderate rain gave a big relief to visitors who came from regions experiencing extreme hot temperatures.