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SEVEN Announces Plans for Second Entertainment Complex in Riyadh

An actor poses with a replica of a vintage cinema camera as visitors enter a screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April 2018. (AP)
An actor poses with a replica of a vintage cinema camera as visitors enter a screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April 2018. (AP)
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SEVEN Announces Plans for Second Entertainment Complex in Riyadh

An actor poses with a replica of a vintage cinema camera as visitors enter a screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April 2018. (AP)
An actor poses with a replica of a vintage cinema camera as visitors enter a screening, at the King Abdullah Financial District Theater, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April 2018. (AP)

A second mega entertainment hub in Saudi capital Riyadh has been revealed by the Saudi Entertainment Ventures Company (SEVEN) – a fully owned subsidiary of Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The company announced the location of its first entertainment destinations in December.

The new project's location in Al-Rabwa neighborhood was chosen due to the population density in the region, its need for modern leisure destinations and for ease of access since it is located close to the Salah Al-Din station of the Riyadh metro project.

The complex will be spread across 135,000 square meters. It will include a variety of carefully selected recreational facilities along with restaurants and cafes, open spaces for events, sports and live shows, as well as cinema halls, to become the top destinations for residents, visitors, and tourists.

Chairman of SEVEN, Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Dawoud said his company's projects will be the largest entertainment destination expanded under a geographical plan covering all of the Kingdom’s regions, to offer diverse entertainment options with a modern design and a unique character.

The planned comprehensive entertainment complex allows all the family members to enjoy their time and provide services for all categories in line with the Kingdom's aim to improve the lifestyle of Saudis and residents. The visitor will be able to spend hours in an inclusive all-day entertainment trip.

The Saudi Entertainment Ventures Company works on providing a new investment capital to support the growth of entertainment sector and the diversification of the Saudi economy on the short and long terms.

PIF announced SEVEN's establishment as an investment arm aimed at supporting, developing, and boosting the entertainment sector infrastructure and building partnerships with private and public parties.

SEVEN works to enhance the entertainment sector and build an integrated sustainable system in the Kingdom by focusing on four sectors starting with the opening of the first cinema in April 2018 in partnership with AMC, the largest cinema operator in the world; then, the second sector of recreational complexes with the first complex announced in December 2018 in Riyadh and the second in March 2019. Its strategy also covers the sector of amusement parks and family entertainment centers.

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Finland Zoo to Return Giant Pandas to China because they're Too Expensive to Keep

FILE - Female panda Jin Bao Bao, named Lumi in Finnish, plays in the snow on the opening day of the Snowpanda Resort in Ahtari Zoo, in Ahtari, Finland, Saturday Feb. 17, 2018. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP), File)
FILE - Female panda Jin Bao Bao, named Lumi in Finnish, plays in the snow on the opening day of the Snowpanda Resort in Ahtari Zoo, in Ahtari, Finland, Saturday Feb. 17, 2018. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP), File)
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Finland Zoo to Return Giant Pandas to China because they're Too Expensive to Keep

FILE - Female panda Jin Bao Bao, named Lumi in Finnish, plays in the snow on the opening day of the Snowpanda Resort in Ahtari Zoo, in Ahtari, Finland, Saturday Feb. 17, 2018. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP), File)
FILE - Female panda Jin Bao Bao, named Lumi in Finnish, plays in the snow on the opening day of the Snowpanda Resort in Ahtari Zoo, in Ahtari, Finland, Saturday Feb. 17, 2018. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP), File)

A zoo in Finland has agreed with Chinese authorities to return two loaned giant pandas to China more than eight years ahead of schedule because they have become too expensive for the facility to maintain amid declining visitors.
The private Ähtäri Zoo in central Finland some 330 kilometers north of Helsinki said Wednesday on its Facebook page that the female panda Lumi, Finnish for “snow,” and the male panda Pyry, meaning “snowfall,” will return “prematurely” to China later this year, The Associated Press reported.
The panda pair was China’s gift to mark the Nordic nation’s 100 years of independence in 2017, and they were supposed to be on loan until 2033.
But since then the zoo has experienced a number of challenges, including a decline in visitors due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as an increase in inflation and interest rates, the facility said in a statement.
The panda deal between Helsinki and Beijing, a 15-year loan agreement, had been finalized in April 2017 when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Finland for talks with Finland's then-President Sauli Niinistö. The pandas arrived in Finland in January 2018.
The Ähtäri Zoo, which specializes in typical northern European animals such as bears, lynxes and wolverines, built a special panda annex at a cost of some 8 million euros ($9 million) in hopes of luring more tourists to the remote nature reserve.
The upkeep of Lumi and Pyry, including a preservation fee to China, cost the zoo some 1.5 million euros annually. The bamboo that giant pandas eat was flown in from the Netherlands.
The Chinese Embassy in Helsinki noted to Finnish media that Beijing had tried to help Ähtäri to solve its financial difficulties by, among things, urging Chinese companies operating in Finland to make donations to the zoo and supporting its debt arrangements.
However, declining visitor numbers combined with drastic changes in the economic environment proved too high a burden for the smallish Finnish zoo. The panda pair will enter into a monthlong quarantine in late October before being shipped to China.
Finland, a country of 5.6 million, was among the first Western nations to establish political ties with China, doing so in 1950. China has presented giant pandas to countries as a sign of goodwill and closer political ties, and Finland was the first Nordic nation to receive them.