Opera house to be built in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia says construction will soon start on the first opera house in the kingdom where concerts have been banned for two decades, along with introducing music in restaurants and stores.

The kingdom has been relaxing its decades-old restrictions on entertainment as part of a wider effort to boost the economy. The opera house will be built in the Red Sea city of Jiddah on the country’s western coast.

A £46 billion investment will be made into the entertainment industry over the next decade, with Maroon 5 and Cirque du Soleil among attractions coming to the kingdom.