20 Projects to Boost Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Creative Scene

CEO of the Saudi Cultural Development Fund Mohammed bin Dayel, (Asharq Al-Awsat)
CEO of the Saudi Cultural Development Fund Mohammed bin Dayel, (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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20 Projects to Boost Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Creative Scene

CEO of the Saudi Cultural Development Fund Mohammed bin Dayel, (Asharq Al-Awsat)
CEO of the Saudi Cultural Development Fund Mohammed bin Dayel, (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s cultural and creative scene is bracing for 20 new projects and initiatives widening its horizons. The Cultural Development Fund had approved the host of initiatives as the first qualified package of projects for launching a new cultural era in the Kingdom.

The Cultural Development Fund’s approval was coupled with it providing SAR76 million to support said projects.

This comes as part of the Fund’s endeavors to enrich the cultural activity in the Kingdom.

Supporting the pioneers of the cultural sector and enabling them to start their businesses and expand their existing initiatives will most definitely enhance the cultural scene in the Kingdom, empower national competencies, and provide an opportunity for more quality and creativity.

CEO of the Saudi Cultural Development Fund Mohammed bin Dayel considered that supporting the first package of cultural projects is one step to be followed by many other steps.

He said that more programs and plans to stimulate the Kingdom’s cultural sector will be announced in the coming period.

For his part, the head of the business sector at the Fund, Majid bin Abdullah Al-Manea, confirmed that the new projects are the first announced batch to receive support from among the group of advanced projects in the first cycle of the program.

He said the projects were selected after meeting all of the Fund’s requirements.

They were chosen for their social, economic, and cultural impact.

According to Al-Manea, all projects will remain subject to performance follow-up mechanisms to ensure the quality of their outputs.

The Fund's establishment came to develop the cultural sector and achieve sustainability by supporting cultural activities and projects, facilitating cultural investment, and enhancing the sector's profitability.

Additionally, enabling those interested in engaging in cultural activities to have an active role in achieving the National Culture Strategy's goals and the Kingdom's Vision 2030.



Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
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Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)

Nearly 1,000 firefighters and helicopters battled a wildfire about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of France's second-largest city Marseille on Friday, but officials said lower temperatures and increased humidity had improved the situation.

The 240-hectare (593 acres) wildfire flared up a week after a separate conflagration reached the northwestern outskirts of Marseille, forcing people to evacuate or into lockdown and temporarily shuttering the area's airport.

Pierre Bepoix, the colonel of rescue operations and deputy director for the area's firefighters, said 150 people had been evacuated, but firefighters had managed to save 150 homes and portions of the area's forests.

"It was a fire that swept through relatively dense vegetation ... which made our work particularly complicated," Bepoix told Reuters. "Obviously, priority was given to the preservation and protection of these homes and the lives that could be in these buildings."

Local officials said in a statement that 120 homes had been threatened by the fire, adding that it was not possible yet to identify any possible damage to them, and that two firefighters had been injured.

Meanwhile in Spain, a wildfire that broke out on Thursday evening in the central Toledo province and could be seen from downtown Madrid, ravaged 3,200 hectares of woodland.

Regional emergency services said early on Friday firefighters had secured the perimeter, though there were concerns over strong winds and high temperatures forecast throughout the day.