World’s Largest Light Art Festival in Riyadh Sees Over 3 Million Spectators

Under the theme Light Years Apart, audiences experienced the festival across three iconic hubs: King Abdulaziz Historical Center, Wadi Hanifah, and JAX District. SPA
Under the theme Light Years Apart, audiences experienced the festival across three iconic hubs: King Abdulaziz Historical Center, Wadi Hanifah, and JAX District. SPA
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World’s Largest Light Art Festival in Riyadh Sees Over 3 Million Spectators

Under the theme Light Years Apart, audiences experienced the festival across three iconic hubs: King Abdulaziz Historical Center, Wadi Hanifah, and JAX District. SPA
Under the theme Light Years Apart, audiences experienced the festival across three iconic hubs: King Abdulaziz Historical Center, Wadi Hanifah, and JAX District. SPA

Noor Riyadh, the world’s largest light art festival and a flagship program of Riyadh Art, concluded its successful fourth edition, welcoming over 3 million spectators and bringing together over 60 artworks by more than 60 artists from 18 countries, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Under the theme Light Years Apart, audiences experienced the festival across three iconic hubs: King Abdulaziz Historical Center, Wadi Hanifah, and JAX District.

The festival also featured a striking city-scale light installation at Al Faisaliah Tower, transforming Riyadh into a luminous celebration of art and innovation. This year’s festival brought together 18 Saudi and 43 international artists with site-specific and newly commissioned artworks.

Exceptional installations included Chris Levine’s Higher Power, a city-scale laser projection atop Al Faisaliah Tower; Maryam Tariq’s Shifting Perspectives, which explored perceptual ambiguity at Digital City; and Aether by United Visual Artists, a dazzling drone show at King Abdulaziz Historical Center. Another standout work, Rashed AlShashai’s The Fifth Pyramid, symbolized Riyadh’s cultural transformation.

Architect Khalid Al-Hazani, the executive director of Riyadh Art, bid farewell to the festival, saying: “Noor Riyadh 2024 celebrated humanity’s connection to the stars, sparking inspiration and dialogue through the universal language of art. We look forward to continuing Riyadh’s journey of cultural transformation.”
As for Noor Riyadh festival director Nouf Almoneef, he said: “Once again, this year’s festival united local and international artists for a truly world-class festival.”

“I extend my deepest gratitude to the incredible team -- our staff, volunteers, and partners for their exceptional efforts and collaboration, as well as to the millions of spectators whose engagement made this festival unforgettable,” SPA quoted him as saying.

As part of the community engagement program, which attracted over 52,000 participants, Noor Riyadh organized a variety of activities designed to inspire and connect with the community. These included engaging talks, insightful discussions, interactive workshops, creative experiences, family-friendly activities, and guided tours that enriched the festival experience for visitors.

The seamless execution of these activities was made possible by a dedicated team comprising curators, artists, art explainers, tour guides, and installation crews, ensuring every participant enjoyed a memorable experience.



A Zoo Elephant Dies in Indonesia after Being Swept Away in a River

The carcass of an elephant is covered with a blue tarp after it was found dead on a riverbank after being swept away by the river's current the previous evening, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, 17 December 2024. (EPA)
The carcass of an elephant is covered with a blue tarp after it was found dead on a riverbank after being swept away by the river's current the previous evening, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, 17 December 2024. (EPA)
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A Zoo Elephant Dies in Indonesia after Being Swept Away in a River

The carcass of an elephant is covered with a blue tarp after it was found dead on a riverbank after being swept away by the river's current the previous evening, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, 17 December 2024. (EPA)
The carcass of an elephant is covered with a blue tarp after it was found dead on a riverbank after being swept away by the river's current the previous evening, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, 17 December 2024. (EPA)

An elephant that lived at the zoo on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali was found dead on Tuesday after being swept away by a strong river current.

Molly, a 45-year-old female Sumatran elephant was one of two being guided by a mahout to a holding area outside of the zoo grounds through a river on Monday afternoon. The activity was part of their daily routine of mental and physical stimulation.

The first elephant had made it across and Molly was in the river when the current suddenly increased due to heavy rain upstream, the zoo said in a statement.

"In this situation, Molly lost her balance and was swept away by the current," it said. The mahout was uninjured.

A team from Bali Zoo and Bali Natural Resources Conservation Agency conducted an intensive search. The dead elephant was found Tuesday morning in Cengceng river in Sukawati subdistrict in Gianyar district, Bali.

"The entire team at Bali Zoo is deeply saddened by the loss of Molly, a female elephant who has been an important part of our extended family. Molly was known to be a kind and friendly elephant," the zoo said.

"This was an unavoidable event, but we are committed to conducting a thorough evaluation of our operational procedures and risk mitigation measures, especially during the rainy season, to ensure the safety of all our animals in the future," said Emma Chandra, the zoo's head of public relations.

Seasonal rains from around October through to March frequently cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands.

Sumatran elephants are a critically endangered species and fewer than 700 remain on Sumatra island. This subspecies of the Asian elephant, one of two species of the largest mammal in the world, is protected under an Indonesian law on the conservation of biological natural resources and their ecosystems.