Mariah Carey performs for the first time in Saudi Arabia
Mariah Carey performed a massive concert in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, January 31 to become the highest profile international singer to perform in the Kingdom since the launch of the cultural openness project adopted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
"I'm so happy to see you guys all together tonight," the superstar told an exuberant crowd at the Bay La Sun resort in King Abdullah Economic City.
Carey sang a group of her famous hits including "Love Takes Time," and "Make it Happen." And dedicated the song "Always Be My Baby," to the audience.
The acclaimed star was wearing a full length black sequined dress in an attempt to respect the rules of Saudi Arabia.
Thousands of Saudis and foreigners were keen to attend Carey’s concert ,the mood was joyful and full of energy. For many Saudis this was their first concert to experience.
When Carey performed one of her classic hits "Fantasy" the attendees erupted, singing along "Presented with the offer to perform for an international and mixed gender audience in Saudi Arabia, Mariah accepted the opportunity as a positive step towards the dissolution of gender segregation," Carey's publicists told The Associated Press.
Bin Salman has made a plenty of steps to transfer the kingdom, which was famous for its ultra-conservative culture, to a new culturally and socially open country. He has already eased the rules pertaining to the separation of the sexes.
The Saudi Kingdom gave women the right to start their own businesses without the approval of a male relative. Rules have also been relaxed about women walking in public without a male guardian.
At the beginning of February 2018, the Shura Council, the advisory body to the monarchy, demanded the country’s sports authority to establish a Saudi agency tailor made for women’s sports.
Saudi Minister for Culture and Information Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad previously announced that he expected the theaters to be opened in March. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia started the screening of international children movies on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 in Jeddah.
In December 2018, the Saudi government started to issue licenses for the establishment of cinema halls for the first time in three decades, despite this, lifting the ban has been opposed by powerful religious officials, who say that films can be immoral or “open doors to evil” as per their description.
This decision strongly reflects Saudi Arabia’s desire to kick off its cinematic activities.