Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia was set to host the opening of a pop-up nightclub on Thursday, but it was “shut down” ahead the arrival of its headline act.
White, a Dubai-based nightclub company, had planned to open a temporary brunch in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.
It had lined up American singer Ne-Yo for its opening night, with entry costing between €71-€222 per person.
To operate within the country’s conservative rules, the company referred to the popup as a café, a lounge or a performance venue, which was also alcohol-free.
The dress code was listed as “smart casual” indicating that attendees would not need to adhere to the country’s strict regulations on clothes, including Abaya worn by women.
Saudi social media users appeared split on the idea of opening the venue for its month-long residency.
Using hashtag “disco_in_Jeddah”, many posted amusing memes about the planned opening night and asked where they could get tickets.
Others, however, maintained that the club would be a violation of Islamic codes.
Serge Trad, the communication advisor for Addmind Hospitality Group, said the pop-up’s Instagram had been shut down after it had been reported.
He said: “It was part of the negative feedback we were getting. People were angry about “White” opening there”.
A short later, the Saudi General Authority for Entertainment said in a tweet that it had opened an investigation into the event that had been a “violation of the legal proceedings” and “had not been licensed”.
The statement added that the authority had “originally issued a licence for another event”, but “its contractor then took advantage of an extension of that licence to commit these serious and unacceptable violations”.
Meanwhile, Ne-Yo posted a message on Instagram to say he had been informed the club being shut down as he was “on the way to the venue”. “Guess we’ll try again another time”, he said.
LATEST
- SABIC’s Quarterly Net Profits Slumps 94% On Lower Sales PricesPARIS, France – Petrochemicals firm Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) said on Tuesday its fourth-quarter net profit slumped 94% on lower average sales prices. SABIC posted a net income of 0.29 billion riyals ($77.28 million) in the three – month period ended Dec. 31, down from 4.97 billion riyals in the year-ago period. Princes across […]
- Saudi Arabia To Host Pre-Pandemic Numbers For 2023 Haj Pilgrimage SeasonPARIS, France – Saudi Arabia will remove COVID-19 restriction for the 2023 haj season and host pre-pandemic numbers of pilgrims, the kingdom’s ministry of haj and umrah said on Monday. In 2019, the last yeast before the pandemic struck, some 2.6 million people performed the haj. The kingdom allowed only limited numbers from its residents […]
- Saudia To Buy Up To 100 Lilium Electric Aircraft For Domestic NetworkPARIS, France – – Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has signed an agreement with German air taxi developer Lilium to buy up to 100 of its aircraft for use on Saudia’s domestic network, the state carrier’s chief executive said on Wednesday. Saudia CEO Ibrahim Koshy said the planes would be ”a premium service” that carry four […]
- Saudia In Talks With Airbus And Boeing Over Plane OrdersPARIS, France – Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) is in talks with plane makers Airbus SE and Boeing Co on orders for itself and a new carrier the kingdom plans to launch, the state-owned airline’s chief executive said on Tuesday. The talks are for aircraft for both airlines as they have the ”same shareholder”, Ibrahim Koshy […]
- Riyadh And Washington Will Overcome Spat, Saudi Minister SaysPARIS, France – Saudi Arabia and the United States will get over their ”unwarranted” spat over oil supplies, the kingdom’s investment minister told a business forum in Riyadh on Tuesday, highlighting long-standing corporate and institutional ties. This month’s decision by the OPEC+ alliance led by Saudi Arabia to cut oil output targets unleashed a war […]
- Saudi Crown Prince Not Attending Arab Summit On Doctors’ Advice, Algerian Presidency SaysPARIS, France – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will not attend the Arab summit to be held on Nov.1 in Algeria, in compliance with a doctors’ recommendation to avoid travel, the Algerian presidency said in a statement late on Saturday. Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de-facto ruler, ”expressed his regret for non-attending the Arab Summit”, […]
ARABIA 5AM NEWS 
Leave a Reply