Over 180,000 Attend First Day of Saudi Arabia's ‘MDLBEAST SOUNDSTORM’

MDLBEAST SOUNDSTORM features a line-up of more than 200 international and Arab performers, Asharq Al-Awsat
MDLBEAST SOUNDSTORM features a line-up of more than 200 international and Arab performers, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Over 180,000 Attend First Day of Saudi Arabia's ‘MDLBEAST SOUNDSTORM’

MDLBEAST SOUNDSTORM features a line-up of more than 200 international and Arab performers, Asharq Al-Awsat
MDLBEAST SOUNDSTORM features a line-up of more than 200 international and Arab performers, Asharq Al-Awsat

Over 180,000 people attended the first day of the largest music festival in the region, MDLBEAST SOUNDSTORM, which kickstarted in Riyadh on Thursday with a line-up of more than 200 international and Arab performers.

The four-day blockbuster music festival embraced the masses that interacted with star performers like Elissa, Majid al-Muhandis, Mohamed Hamaki, Rashed Al-Majed and several global EDM DJs.

Held in Banban in Riyadh, MDLBEAST SOUNDSTORM welcomed festivalgoers and EDM fans to its stages: “BIGBEAST,” “DOWNBEAST,” “DANCEBEAST,” and “UNDERGROUNDBEAST.”

A visit to the festival presents an opportunity to enjoy a unique experience that is not limited to music, but rather a wide and varied list of artistic performances, local art exhibitions, live entertainment shows, food trucks and distinguished restaurants.

The festival offers a multi-sensory, multi-stage experience, showcasing both local and international talent, representing all spheres of the cultural landscape across multiple stages. A feast for the senses, it will enable festivalgoers to enjoy the most innovative, immersive experiences in world-class arts, culture, and food in one single venue.

The festival comes during the successful run of the Riyadh Season as one of the Kingdom’s initiatives to develop the entertainment sector.

Expected to welcome more than 500,000 people over the four days, the event has reflected the new weight of Riyadh on the world art map.



Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
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Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci

Archaeologists working on the shores of Ohrid Lake in Albania are convinced they have uncovered the oldest human settlement built on a European lake, finding evidence of an organized hunting and farming community living up to 8,000 years ago. The team, from Switzerland and Albania, spends hours each day about three meters (9.8 feet) underwater, painstakingly retrieving wooden stilts that supported houses.

The are also collecting bones of domesticated and wild animals, copper objects and ceramics, featuring detailed carvings.

Albert Hafner, from the University of Bern, said similar settlements have been found in Alpine and Mediterranean regions, but the settlements in the village of Lin are half a millennium older, dating back between 6,000 and 8,000 years.

"Because it is under water, the organic material is well-preserved and this allows us to find out what these people have been eating, what they have been planting," Hafner said.

Multiple studies show that Lake Ohrid, shared by North Macedonia and Albania, is the oldest lake in Europe, at over one million years.

The age of the findings is determined through radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, which measures annual growth rings in trees. More than one thousand wood samples have been collected from the site, which may have hosted several hundred people.

It is believed to cover around six hectares, but so far, only about 1% has been excavated after six years of work.

Hafner said findings show that people who lived on the lake helped to spread agriculture and livestock to other parts of Europe.

"They were still doing hunting and collecting things but the stable income for the nutrition was coming from the agriculture," he said.

Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi said it could take decades to fully explore the area.

"(By) the way they had lived, eaten, hunted, fished and by the way the architecture was used to build their settlement we can say they were very smart for that time," Anastasi said.