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Noor Riyadh 2023: Grand Launch Marks Start of Incredible Event

The Noor Riyadh Festival 2023 takes place from November 30 to December 16. SPA
The Noor Riyadh Festival 2023 takes place from November 30 to December 16. SPA
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Noor Riyadh 2023: Grand Launch Marks Start of Incredible Event

The Noor Riyadh Festival 2023 takes place from November 30 to December 16. SPA
The Noor Riyadh Festival 2023 takes place from November 30 to December 16. SPA

The Noor Riyadh Festival 2023, taking place from November 30 to December 16, was launched at the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), setting the stage for Thursday's official start under the theme 'The Bright Side of the Desert Moon'.

The festival showcases over 120 artworks by 100 artists from various countries, including 35 local artists.

Spread across five locations in Riyadh city: KAFD, JAX District, Salam Park, Wadi Hanifah, and Wadi Namar, the festival invites visitors on a captivating artistic journey spanning five chapters, seamlessly connecting the heart of Riyadh to the desert outskirts.

The event is organized under the guidance of esteemed artistic curators. The lead artistic curator is Jérôme Sans, accompanied by curators Pedro Alonzo, Alaa Taabzouni, and Fahad bin Naif.

Accompanying this year's celebration is the exhibition 'Refracted Identities, Shared Future' at Jax District. Running until March 2, 2024, the exhibition features 32 artists from around the world. Curated by Neville Wakefield and Maya Al Athel, both renowned for their involvement in major global arts festivals.

"The Noor Riyadh Festival aligns with the city's transformation into an accessible art exhibition. It offers diverse artistic experiences and community engagement, improving the quality of life in the capital,” said Executive Director of Riyadh Art Program Khalid Al-Hazani.

“The celebration serves as a platform for cultural exchange, supporting local talent and bolstering the Kingdom's cultural economy, in line with the goals of the Riyadh Art Program,” he added.

The Riyadh Art Program aims to install 1,000 artworks in public spaces across the city, encompassing 12 projects. Additionally, the festival has achieved eight Guinness World Records in the past two editions.

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UN Demands Action on Extreme Heat as World Registers Warmest Day

A child cools off nearby sprinklers at Retiro Park during the second day of the heatwave, in Madrid, Spain July 25, 2024. (Reuters)
A child cools off nearby sprinklers at Retiro Park during the second day of the heatwave, in Madrid, Spain July 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Demands Action on Extreme Heat as World Registers Warmest Day

A child cools off nearby sprinklers at Retiro Park during the second day of the heatwave, in Madrid, Spain July 25, 2024. (Reuters)
A child cools off nearby sprinklers at Retiro Park during the second day of the heatwave, in Madrid, Spain July 25, 2024. (Reuters)

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Thursday for countries to address the urgency of the extreme heat epidemic, fueled by climate change - days after the world registered its hottest day on record.

"Extreme heat is the new abnormal," Guterres said. "The world must rise to the challenge of rising temperatures," he said.

Climate change is making heatwaves more frequent, more intense and longer lasting across the world.

Already this year, scorching conditions have killed 1,300 hajj pilgrims, closed schools for some 80 million children in Africa and Asia, and led to a spike in hospitalizations and deaths in the Sahel.

Every month since June 2023 has now ranked as the planet's warmest since records began in 1940, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, according the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

The UN called on governments to not only tamp down fossil fuel emissions - the driver of climate change - but to bolster protections for the most vulnerable, including the elderly, pregnant women and children, and step up safeguards for workers.

Over 70 percent of the global workforce - 2.4 billion people - are now at high risk of extreme heat, according to a report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) published Thursday.

In Africa, nearly 93 percent of the workforce is exposed to excessive heat, and 84 percent of the Arab States' workforce, the ILO report found.

Excessive heat has been blamed for causing almost 23 million workplace injuries worldwide, and some 19,000 deaths annually.

"We need measures to protect workers, grounded in human rights," Guterres said.

He also called for governments to "heatproof" their economies, critical sectors such as healthcare, and the built environment.

Cities are warming at twice the worldwide average rate due to rapid urbanization and the urban heat island effect.

By 2050, some researchers estimate a 700 percent global increase in the number of urban poor living in extreme heat conditions.

This is the first time the UN has put out a global call for action on extreme heat.

"We need a policy signal and this is it," said Kathy Baughman Mcleod, CEO of Climate Resilience for All, a nonprofit focused on extreme heat.

"It's recognition of how big it is and how urgent it is. It's also recognition that everybody doesn't feel in the same way and pay the same price for it."