Saudi Arabia to Open Cinemas after 35 Year Ban

After more than 35 years Saudi Arabia will allow movie theatres to open all around the kingdom. The latest move is in tune with the reformist mission that the young Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has embarked on.

The resolution was passed on Monday heralding licenses to be given to commercial movie theatres, decades after all cinemas were shuttered in the 1980’s during a wave of ultra-conservatism in the country.

“Commercial cinemas will be allowed to operate in the Kingdom as of early 2018, for the first time in more than 35 years,” the culture and information ministry said in a statement.

The country is expected to have more than 300 cinemas with over 2,000 screens by 2030, the ministry said. Earlier Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had spoken out in favour of returning to “moderate Islam.”

He has been pushing for socio-cultural reforms which include lifting the ban on women driving in the country and allowing women to attend sports events at stadiums. In September, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed a royal decree permitting Saudi women to drive cars, for the first time in the history of the country. The decree is set to come into effect in June 2018.

The Saudi authorities will also start renovating the main stadiums in the cities’ of Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah to be ready to receive families starting in 2018. According to the Arab News newspaper earlier in October, President of the Saudi Olympic Committee, Turki Al-Asheikh, appointed Princess Reema bint Bandar president of the Saudi Federation for Community Sports.