Riyadh Season Attracts 11 Million Visitors from 125 Countries

Riyadh Season 2
Riyadh Season 2
TT

Riyadh Season Attracts 11 Million Visitors from 125 Countries

Riyadh Season 2
Riyadh Season 2

The Riyadh Season attracted up to 11 million visitors from 125 countries, revealed Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) on Sunday.

Turki Alalshikh affirmed that the number of visitors to the Riyadh season 2 has surpassed 11 million, with 1 million overseas tourists.

"With the support and planning of the Crown Prince, the number of visitors to Riyadh Season has exceeded 11 million," Alalshikh said on Twitter.

According to GEA figures, the total number of participants was 11,875,000, with 1.6 million coming from within Saudi Arabia and 8.3 million from Riyadh.

This season also created 150,000 direct and indirect jobs through the participation of 1,255 firms.

Tourists from 125 countries included 8,227 Russians, 7,332 Canadians, 8,815 French, 20,104 Britons, and 22,532 Americans.

The Riyadh Season featured 70 Arab concerts, six international concerts, 10 international exhibitions, 350 theatrical performances, 18 Arab plays, six international plays, international matches, and freestyle wrestling performances dispersed throughout 14 entertainment areas in Riyadh.



Balkans Snowstorm Leaves Tens of Thousands of Homes without Power, Causes Traffic Chaos

An aerial view of parked trolley buses during heavy snowfall in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP)
An aerial view of parked trolley buses during heavy snowfall in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP)
TT

Balkans Snowstorm Leaves Tens of Thousands of Homes without Power, Causes Traffic Chaos

An aerial view of parked trolley buses during heavy snowfall in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP)
An aerial view of parked trolley buses during heavy snowfall in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP)

Tens of thousands of homes in Bosnia were without electricity on Tuesday after more heavy snow and winds that also brought traffic chaos in neighboring Croatia and Serbia.

In Slovenia, the resumption of a search for an injured Hungarian hiker missing in the Alps north of the capital Ljubljana since Sunday was temporarily suspended because of strong winds.

Rescuers on Monday reached his female companion and transferred her to safety, but they were unable to locate the man and couldn't use a helicopter because of strong winds.

Throughout the Balkans authorities issued travel warnings as snow drifts closed some major routes, including sections of motorways in Croatia.

Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia banned the movement of heavy vehicles and imposed limited traffic levels on affected roads.

Parts of Bosnia faced a total halt of railway traffic because of the snow.

Bosnia's state power company described the situation as “extremely hard” in some areas of the country. The weight of heavy, moist snow brought down distribution lines which are hard to access due to snow drifts, the company said in a statement.

Regional N1 television reported dozens of vehicles were stuck in the snow for 10 hours in western Bosnia overnight before they could continue. Authorities in the nearby town of Drvar declared an emergency while struggling to clear snow.

The town's municipal council president Jasna Pecanac told the Drvar radio that the town has been cut off. “Many of our residents are stuck in the snow,” she said. “The situation is very hard as the snow continues to fall.”