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Riyadh Season 2024 to Kick Off with Epic Showdown Featuring Boxing Stars on October 12

Riyadh Season 2024 to Kick Off with Epic Showdown Featuring Boxing Stars on October 12
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Riyadh Season 2024 to Kick Off with Epic Showdown Featuring Boxing Stars on October 12

Riyadh Season 2024 to Kick Off with Epic Showdown Featuring Boxing Stars on October 12

Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority Advisor Turki Al Al-Sheikh has announced the much-anticipated fight at the fifth edition of Riyadh Season 2024 opening ceremony.
Boxing fans from around the world are eagerly awaiting the major event titled "IV Crown Showdown," which will take place in Riyadh on October 12, SPA reported. This event will serve as the launching point for a season filled with activities and entertainment that will put Riyadh at the forefront of the global event scene.
The IV Crown Showdown will be a special occasion for boxing fans. It will feature a clash between two light heavyweight titans: Russia's Artur Beterbiev, known for his overwhelming power and a record filled with knockout victories, and his fellow Russian Dmitry Bivol, regarded as one of the most tactical and intelligent boxers in this weight class. This confrontation is not just a title fight; it is a battle to prove supremacy in the light heavyweight division at the global level.
In addition to this main event, the audience will witness a series of thrilling matches featuring top international champions across various weight classes. US Shakur Stevenson will face Welshman Joe Cordina in the super featherweight category. In the middleweight division, British fighter Chris Eubank Jr., who has 18 knockouts, will challenge Polish boxer Kamil Szeremeta in what promises to be an exciting round.
In the heavyweight category, the audience will enjoy a British showdown between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke, both aiming to prove their worth in the Riyadh ring. In the cruiserweight division, Australian Jai Opetaia, who previously won by knockout in the "Ring of Fire" clash last December, will meet British fighter Jack Massey.
Other matches include the British silver medalist from the 2020 Olympics, Ben Whittaker, who took on his compatriot, Liam Cameron, in the light heavyweight division. Also, for the first time, a women's match will take place in Riyadh Season's boxing ring, with Australian Skye Nicolson battling British Raven Chapman in the featherweight category.
The audience will also witness a significant and memorable encounter between Saudi boxer Mohammed Al-Aqil and Mexican Jesus Gonzales in the welterweight division, adding a unique and national flavor to this global event.
The IV Crown Showdown is part of Riyadh Season, which has established itself as a major global entertainment destination.

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Entertainment

BTS Light Stick Prices Surge Ahead of Comeback Concert

A view of the main stage for a free concert by K-pop group BTS at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, 18 March 2026. (EPA)
A view of the main stage for a free concert by K-pop group BTS at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, 18 March 2026. (EPA)
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BTS Light Stick Prices Surge Ahead of Comeback Concert

A view of the main stage for a free concert by K-pop group BTS at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, 18 March 2026. (EPA)
A view of the main stage for a free concert by K-pop group BTS at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, 18 March 2026. (EPA)

Second-hand BTS light sticks were selling for up to six times the original price ahead of the K-pop megagroup's huge comeback concert this weekend, an online reseller showed Wednesday.

The world's biggest boy band reunites on Saturday for their first show in nearly four years, taking over central Seoul for a K-pop extravaganza beamed live around the globe.

K-pop fans are known for their concert light sticks, which have become symbols of devotion to their artists.

BTS's global fans, known as the ARMY, calls theirs the Army Bomb.

The original price of the latest official version is around 50,000 won ($33.67), but they are sold out.

Listings on Bunjang, a major platform for used goods, are priced at between 100,000 and 330,000 won per unit.

The concert on Saturday will see BTS take the stage on the doorstep of the famed Gyeongbokgung royal palace.

The area has also long been a site of political protests, including after former president Yoon Suk Yeol's failed 2024 martial law declaration, when K-pop fans took part with glowsticks -- a striking image that drew global attention.

Entertainment

Oscars TV Audience Shrinks 9% in US from Last Year

US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Oscar for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for "One Battle After Another" onstage during the 98th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Oscar for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for "One Battle After Another" onstage during the 98th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Oscars TV Audience Shrinks 9% in US from Last Year

US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Oscar for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for "One Battle After Another" onstage during the 98th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Oscar for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for "One Battle After Another" onstage during the 98th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026. (AFP)

The Academy Awards telecast attracted 17.9 million US viewers, a 9% decrease from the previous year and the lowest since 2022, according to Nielsen data released by broadcaster ABC on Tuesday.

The figure for Sunday's show reflected viewing ‌on ABC ‌and on the streaming service ‌Hulu. ⁠Both are owned ⁠by Walt Disney.

Hollywood handed the best picture prize to darkly comic thriller "One Battle After Another" during the more than three-hour-long ceremony. Comedian Conan ⁠O'Brien hosted for the ‌second year ‌in a row.

Viewership for awards shows has ‌been declining for years as TV ‌audiences have shifted to streaming and social media.

ABC said social impressions for the Oscars increased 42% this ‌year over 2025 to more than 184 million.

The ⁠highest-rated ⁠Academy Awards telecast aired in 1998, when megahit "Titanic" swept the honors. More than 57 million people tuned in that year.

In 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Oscar ratings hit their low point with 10.5 million viewers. The Oscars ceremony will be moving from ABC to YouTube in 2029.

Entertainment

‘Dune: Part Three’ Trailer Lands, a Day After Sneak Peek with Zendaya, Director Villeneuve

US actress Zendaya poses during a photocall prior to attend the Louis Vuitton Women's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection fashion show as part of the Paris Women Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 10, 2026. (AFP)
US actress Zendaya poses during a photocall prior to attend the Louis Vuitton Women's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection fashion show as part of the Paris Women Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 10, 2026. (AFP)
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‘Dune: Part Three’ Trailer Lands, a Day After Sneak Peek with Zendaya, Director Villeneuve

US actress Zendaya poses during a photocall prior to attend the Louis Vuitton Women's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection fashion show as part of the Paris Women Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 10, 2026. (AFP)
US actress Zendaya poses during a photocall prior to attend the Louis Vuitton Women's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection fashion show as part of the Paris Women Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 10, 2026. (AFP)

Canadian filmmaker Denis ‌Villeneuve revealed he nearly took a break before completing "Dune: Part Three," the conclusion to his epic science-fiction trilogy, but changed his mind after he saw how audiences embraced the first two films.

“I felt an appetite for the third movie that I was not expecting,” said Villeneuve on Monday in Los Angeles at a preview event for the movie's trailer, which was released to the public on Tuesday.

The film, distributed by Warner Bros, arrives in theaters on December 18. It is based on "Dune Messiah," the second book in the "Dune" series of ‌novels written ‌by Frank Herbert, about the battle for control ‌of ⁠the fictional planet ⁠of Arrakis, a harsh desert locale that contains a valuable spice that can extend life.

The new trailer shows the main character, Paul Atreides, played by Timothée Chalamet, and Chani, played by Zendaya, years after the first two films as they ponder their future as parents. The first two films, released in 2021 and 2024, grossed a combined $1.1 billion ⁠worldwide and received numerous accolades, including several Academy ‌Awards.

Villeneuve describes the third film as ‌a departure from the first two, as Paul Atreides must also reckon ‌with the consequences of the power and influence that he holds.

The ‌director recalled how he kept waking up at night with visions of the final chapter. “I was supposed to do another movie in the meantime but the image kept coming back. And I said, ‘All right, let’s do ‌it.’”

In a surprise, Villeneuve brought out several cast members at the event, including Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Anya Taylor-Joy ⁠and Javier ⁠Bardem.

Zendaya reflected on how she spent her entire 20s working on the "Dune" films. "They have such a special place in my heart," the Euphoria actor said.

Pattinson, known for his appearances in "The Batman" and the "Twilight" series of films, joins the cast as the antagonist, Scytale. “I absolutely adored these movies - I saw them multiple times in theaters,” he said.

“He’s a very unusual character in the book,” the actor added. “You can’t really tell whose side he’s on. He’s not a conventional bad guy - he might even be a good guy. Who knows?”

Villeneuve noted the final movie will take fans to new planets on sets that they have yet to see.