To commemorate its 91st National Day, Saudi Arabia is holding dozens of massive celebrations across the Kingdom to mark the event.
Saudi National Day is celebrated annually on September 23 to mark the renaming of the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 following a royal decree from King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud.
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The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) announced a list of activities and events that will take place throughout the day on Thursday. The Ministry of Health urged all citizens and residents to adhere to precautionary measures throughout the celebrations to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Here are all the events that will take place on Saudi National Day:
Concerts
The GEA will be holding a three-night exclusive National Day concert with some of the most prominent Saudi Arabian singers in the country.
The line-up includes Rashed al-Majid, Majid al-Mohandis, Aseel Abu Bakr Salem, Dalia Mubarak, and Ayed.
The concerts will be held from September 23 to 25 at the King Fahad Cultural Center in Riyadh.
The first two nights of the show are already sold out, but some tickets for the Saturday night concert are still available for purchasing, according to the Platinum List ticketing website.
Fireworks show
National Day celebrations in Saudi Arabia would not be complete without massive fireworks shows to commemorate the occasion.
The GEA said that the show would be “the most significant” National Day activity of the evening.
Thousands of fireworks will erupt over 13 of the Kingdom’s cities starting from 9 p.m., according to the GEA.
In previous years, Saudi nationals and residents would crowd the streets around the country to watch the spectacular show. The health ministry said individuals who wish to do the same this year must abide by COVID-19 countermeasures throughout the celebrations.
Military parade
The Ministry of Interior, in collaboration with the GEA, will organize an hour-long military parade in the capital Riyadh and in Jeddah, which will see the participation of women for the first time in the parade’s history.
The Royal Guard Forces will march through the streets of the capital 8:30 p.m., while the parade will kick off in Jeddah at 8:15 p.m., according to the GEA’s program of activities.
Other activities ahead of the parade include the display dozens of old cars that were used by the kings of Saudi Arabia throughout the years, as well as horse shows and marching bands.
Air and sea shows
As part of the Saudi National Day celebrations, the GEA has also organized an exclusive air show that will see military and civilian aircrafts fly across the Kingdom’s skies.
Air shows will kick off from 4 p.m. on Thursday in the capital Riyadh and the cities of Jeddah, Taif, Abha, Tabuk, al-Baha, al-Khobar, and al-Jubail.
A unique sea show will also take place in the Jeddah corniche and the al-Khobar corniche, according to the GEA.
Completing the world’s largest Lego of a Formula One car
To commemorate Saudi National Day, the Kingdom will finalize its record-breaking attempt to build the world’s largest Lego of a Formula One race car.
Citizens and residents were invited to take part in the construction of the Lego, which began on September 15 with Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Jalawi, adviser to the governor of Mecca Region and acting Governor of Jeddah and Prince Khalid bin Sultan al-Abdullah al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) placing the first block.
The assembly process has been taking place at Red Sea Mall in Jeddah.
On Thursday, Guinness World Records representatives will be on hand via livestream to record and certify the Lego block build of the Formula One car as the world’s largest.
