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Saudi Entertainment Ventures Joins Qiddiya Investment Company

File photo by SPA
File photo by SPA
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Saudi Entertainment Ventures Joins Qiddiya Investment Company

File photo by SPA
File photo by SPA

Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), a global leader in entertainment and developer of the concept of play, has announced the entry of Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) into its group of companies. The move enhances the entertainment ecosystem and achieves integration between QIC’s activities in the sector.
By joining QIC, SEVEN supports the group's objectives in developing the concept of play, enhancing local talents and capabilities, as well as improving the quality of life across Saudi Arabia.
SEVEN will continue to redefine the concept of entertainment in Saudi Arabia and elevate the entertainment experience for visitors by developing and operating 21 entertainment projects in 14 Saudi cities. Investments will total more than SAR 50 billion, SPA reported.
Commenting on this announcement, Abdullah Aldawood, Managing Director of Qiddiya Investment Company and Chairman of SEVEN, said:
"This move is an important step that enhances our ability to encourage all Saudi Arabia’s residents and visitors, to embrace the concept of play; with its positive impact on society as a whole.
“It aims to develop knowledge, skills and creativity. This step ultimately aims to create a new concept of fun and improve the quality of life by building an integrated and unprecedented entertainment ecosystem capable of contributing significantly to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification agenda.”
SEVEN has announced a series of partnerships with globally renowned attraction brands such as Transformers and Play Doh from Hasbro, Discovery Adventures from Warner Bros., Hot Wheels from Mattel, Clip ‘n Climb, and Flow House. This offering is further complemented with handpicked retail and food and dining options for all tastes. This follows a series of key announcements in Riyadh, Tabuk, Al Madinah and Yanbu, in addition to nine additional projects that will be unveiled in the coming period.
The announcement of ownership follows the launch of Qiddiya City’s urban plan and global branding in December 2023. Qiddiya seeks to become a leading entertainment, sports and culture powerhouse in the near future, aiming to welcome 48 million visitors annually to enjoy Qiddiya City’s world-class attractions and unique experiences.
PIF launched SEVEN in 2017, while Qiddiya stands as a PIF giga-project. SEVEN reflects PIF’s efforts to develop and empower promising sectors in Saudi Arabia and will contribute to diversifying the economy and increasing the growth of non-oil GDP to meet the aims of Saudi Vision 2030.
Entertainment is one of PIF’s primary strategic local growth sectors, with an aim to enhance integration between projects and companies owned by PIF and increase their operational efficiency. SEVEN will leverage Qiddiya’s capabilities and opportunities to grow investment.

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Climate Change Causing More Change in Rainfall, Fiercer Typhoons, Scientists Say 

People and vehicles wade through the water along a street that was flooded by Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung on July 25, 2024. (AFP)
People and vehicles wade through the water along a street that was flooded by Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung on July 25, 2024. (AFP)
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Climate Change Causing More Change in Rainfall, Fiercer Typhoons, Scientists Say 

People and vehicles wade through the water along a street that was flooded by Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung on July 25, 2024. (AFP)
People and vehicles wade through the water along a street that was flooded by Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung on July 25, 2024. (AFP)

Climate change is driving changes in rainfall patterns across the world, scientists said in a paper published on Friday, which could also be intensifying typhoons and other tropical storms.

Taiwan, the Philippines and then China were lashed by the year's most powerful typhoon this week, with schools, businesses and financial markets shut as wind speeds surged up to 227 kph (141 mph). On China's eastern coast, hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated ahead of landfall on Thursday.

Stronger tropical storms are part of a wider phenomenon of weather extremes driven by higher temperatures, scientists say.

Researchers led by Zhang Wenxia at the China Academy of Sciences studied historical meteorological data and found about 75% of the world's land area had seen a rise in "precipitation variability" or wider swings between wet and dry weather.

Warming temperatures have enhanced the ability of the atmosphere to hold moisture, which is causing wider fluctuations in rainfall, the researchers said in a paper published by the Science journal.

"(Variability) has increased in most places, including Australia, which means rainier rain periods and drier dry periods," said Steven Sherwood, a scientist at the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New South Wales, who was not involved in the study.

"This is going to increase as global warming continues, enhancing the chances of droughts and/or floods."

FEWER, BUT MORE INTENSE, STORMS

Scientists believe that climate change is also reshaping the behavior of tropical storms, including typhoons, making them less frequent but more powerful.

"I believe higher water vapor in the atmosphere is the ultimate cause of all of these tendencies toward more extreme hydrologic phenomena," Sherwood told Reuters.

Typhoon Gaemi, which first made landfall in Taiwan on Wednesday, was the strongest to hit the island in eight years.

While it is difficult to attribute individual weather events to climate change, models predict that global warming makes typhoons stronger, said Sachie Kanada, a researcher at Japan's Nagoya University.

"In general, warmer sea surface temperature is a favorable condition for tropical cyclone development," she said.

In its "blue paper" on climate change published this month, China said the number of typhoons in the Northwest Pacific and South China Sea had declined significantly since the 1990s, but they were getting stronger.

Taiwan also said in its climate change report published in May that climate change was likely to reduce the overall number of typhoons in the region while making each one more intense.

The decrease in the number of typhoons is due to the uneven pattern of ocean warming, with temperatures rising faster in the western Pacific than the east, said Feng Xiangbo, a tropical cyclone research scientist at the University of Reading.

Water vapor capacity in the lower atmosphere is expected to rise by 7% for each 1 degree Celsius increase in temperatures, with tropical cyclone rainfall in the United States surging by as much as 40% for each single degree rise, he said.