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www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2018-09-09/cirque-du-soleil-saudi-show-will-go-on-despite-spat-with-canada
Artists of the Canadian entertainment company "Cirque du Soleil" perform in Mexico on Aug. 30. Photographer: Ulises Ruiz/AFP via Getty Images
Saudi Arabia’s spat with Canada may have affected the currency, maple syrup imports and thousands of Saudi students abroad, but there’s at least one Canadian business untouched: Cirque du Soleil.
The Montreal-based troupe will perform a customized show for Saudi Arabia’s National Day on September 23 in Riyadh, Cirque du Soleil said in an emailed statement. The hour-long show will feature more than 80 artists -- men and women -- wearing 250 costumes on a 300-foot stage, "making it one of the largest productions ever created for a single performance by Cirque du Soleil," the company said.
It will be the first time Cirque du Soleil performs in Saudi Arabia. Under 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the conservative Islamic kingdom has been loosening social restrictions and expanding its once-anemic entertainment industry -- all part of his economic transformation plan called "Vision 2030." At the same time, the prince has led a political crackdown on domestic critics and a more aggressive and unpredictable foreign policy, including the kingdom’s split with Canada last month.
Women in Saudi Arabia must wear long figure-concealing cloaks in public. The vast majority cover their hair as well, and the face-covering niqab is common. Foreign female performers brought to Riyadh over the past couple of years have worn a variety of skin-covering costumes, some more revealing than others.
After a circus performance earlier this year led to a backlash on social media over the artists’ tight clothing, the chairman of the government’s General Entertainment Authority, Ahmed Al-Khatib, was removed from his position.
Artists of the Canadian entertainment company "Cirque du Soleil" perform in Mexico on Aug. 30. Photographer: Ulises Ruiz/AFP via Getty Images
Saudi Arabia’s spat with Canada may have affected the currency, maple syrup imports and thousands of Saudi students abroad, but there’s at least one Canadian business untouched: Cirque du Soleil.
The Montreal-based troupe will perform a customized show for Saudi Arabia’s National Day on September 23 in Riyadh, Cirque du Soleil said in an emailed statement. The hour-long show will feature more than 80 artists -- men and women -- wearing 250 costumes on a 300-foot stage, "making it one of the largest productions ever created for a single performance by Cirque du Soleil," the company said.
It will be the first time Cirque du Soleil performs in Saudi Arabia. Under 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the conservative Islamic kingdom has been loosening social restrictions and expanding its once-anemic entertainment industry -- all part of his economic transformation plan called "Vision 2030." At the same time, the prince has led a political crackdown on domestic critics and a more aggressive and unpredictable foreign policy, including the kingdom’s split with Canada last month.
Women in Saudi Arabia must wear long figure-concealing cloaks in public. The vast majority cover their hair as well, and the face-covering niqab is common. Foreign female performers brought to Riyadh over the past couple of years have worn a variety of skin-covering costumes, some more revealing than others.
After a circus performance earlier this year led to a backlash on social media over the artists’ tight clothing, the chairman of the government’s General Entertainment Authority, Ahmed Al-Khatib, was removed from his position.
