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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
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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.

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Varieties

Pizza Delivery Monitor Alerts to Secret Israel Attack

The Pentagon is seen from the US Army Golden Knights parachute team plane ahead of their performance during the Twilight Tattoo ceremony as part of the Army’s 250th Birthday Festival in Washington, D.C., after taking off from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
The Pentagon is seen from the US Army Golden Knights parachute team plane ahead of their performance during the Twilight Tattoo ceremony as part of the Army’s 250th Birthday Festival in Washington, D.C., after taking off from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
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Pizza Delivery Monitor Alerts to Secret Israel Attack

The Pentagon is seen from the US Army Golden Knights parachute team plane ahead of their performance during the Twilight Tattoo ceremony as part of the Army’s 250th Birthday Festival in Washington, D.C., after taking off from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)
The Pentagon is seen from the US Army Golden Knights parachute team plane ahead of their performance during the Twilight Tattoo ceremony as part of the Army’s 250th Birthday Festival in Washington, D.C., after taking off from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 11, 2025. (Reuters)

The timing of Israel's plan to attack Iran was top secret. But Washington pizza delivery trackers guessed something was up before the first bombs fell.

About an hour before Iranian state TV first reported loud explosions in Tehran, pizza orders around the Pentagon went through the roof, according to a viral X account claiming to offer "hot intel" on "late-night activity spikes" at the US military headquarters.

"As of 6:59 pm ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity," the account "Pentagon Pizza Report" posted on Thursday.

While far from scientific, the Pentagon pizza theory "is not something the internet just made up," The Takeout, an online site covering restaurants and food trends, noted earlier this year.

Pentagon-adjacent pizza joints also got much busier than usual during Israel's 2024 missile strike on Iran, it said, as there are "a multitude of fast-food restaurants in the Pentagon complex, but no pizza places."

Pizza deliveries to the Pentagon reportedly doubled right before the US invasion of Panama in December 1989 and surged again before Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal he was fully aware in advance of the bombing campaign, which Israel says is needed to end Iran's nuclear program. "We know what's going on."

For the rest of Americans, pepperoni pie activity was not the only way to tell something was about to happen.

Washington had already announced it was moving some diplomats and their families out of the Middle East on Wednesday.

And close to an hour before Israel unleashed its firepower on Iran, the US ambassador in Jerusalem, Mike Huckabee, sent out a rather revealing X post: "At our embassy in Jerusalem and closely monitoring the situation. We will remain here all night. 'Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!'"