In a bold move to fulfill the goals of Vision 2030, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is allowing and endorsing live cultural events that are available to the general public. As the Kingdom continues in its commitment to provide Saudis a higher quality of life, it is also making unprecedented strides in the area of arts and culture. In the final days of 2017, King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), supported by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and along with help from Benchmark Events, welcomed famous Lebanese musician Elias Rahbani and his orchestra to the Kingdom.

The live concert took place on the stage of the Juman Park Amphitheatre.

Juman Park and Promenade is the 55,000 sqm beautifully-landscaped public park development in KAEC’s Bay La Sun District. The park overlooks the Bay La Sun Canal and features multiple play areas for toddlers and children, outdoor exercise areas for adults, a vegetation maze, competitive sports areas, walking trails and running tracks, and a promenade that connects the Bay La Sun Hotel and Marina on one side of Juman Park to the Bay View Office Park on the other side of Juman Park.

The park, which took a year to build, is one of the crown jewels of KAEC, the world’s largest privately-funded startup city.

Rahbani’s concert was a welcome surprise for KAEC residents. Tickets for the performance sold quickly. Rahbani was accompanied by his 50-musician live orchestra. Those who bought tickets to the concert were treated to a luxurious dinner and got the chance to enjoy picturesque views of the Red Sea during the outdoor park performance.

The Rahbani concert marked the third in a series of groundbreaking live performances in the Kingdom. The first was a sold-out engagement featuring Egyptian musician Omar Khairat. American rapper Nelly partnered with Algerian singer Cheb Khalid took the stage in Jeddah just a few days before the Rahbaniyat WATAR concert in KAEC.

It was the widespread success of Khairat’s performance that effectively repositioned KAEC as a vibrant community that is playing an active role in the transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

KAEC is a gateway connecting the East to the West and a crossroads that connects Africa, Europe, and Asia.

KAEC’s mission is to assume the role of cultural epicenter, making it a strategic concert hub for Western artists looking to reach the Middle East and Eastern audiences, and Eastern artists who want to enter the Western market.