Alaa Alghamdi

Saudi Arabia may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking about two-week long festivals with millions of visitors. Let the annual two-week cultural festival of Al-Janadriyah prove you wrong! Every year in early spring, people gather outside the capital city of Riyadh and proudly showcase the best, most colourful, and most impressive parts of their local culture. Al-Janadriyah is all about culture, colour, and Saudi history. The festival is considered Saudi Arabia’s annual national heritage and culture festival, and is hosted in a village by the same name outside the capital. Some consider it the most important national event surrounding Saudi history and cultural prosperity. Since 1985 it has been organised by the Saudi National Guard and attracts millions of people from all over Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. According to the organising committee, the festival “seeks to encourage our people to uphold values and heritage, as well as enhance cultural exchange”.
The festival is the largest of its kind in the entire Gulf area. Currently in its 32nd edition, it is opened annually by the King and features a country as a guest of honour. Previous countries have included Turkey, Russia, China and Germany. This year, the special guest of honour is India. King Salman festively opened al-Janadriyah on the 7th of February and together with the Minister of the National Guard, Prince Khaled bin Ayyaf, and received senior officials to the Saudi national anthem playing. As every year, millions of visitors are expected during the 18-day festival.
Activities at al-Janadriyah are vast – ranging from exhibitions to events, interactive creative workshops, and much more. One of the best parts is that the festival is completely free and can be visited by individuals and families alike. Al-Janadriyah is not geared towards tourists, and that is perhaps what makes it so incredibly authentic and breath-taking. Al-Janadriyah village, where the festivities take place, is split into sections that cover all the provinces of Saudi Arabia. Each ‘pavilion’ showcases unique aspects of Saudi culture, including food, traditional craftsmanship and dress, as well as architecture, history, and art. Importantly, each pavilion is also hosted by an agency of the Saudi government, and one pavilion is hosted by a guest government altogether. Thereby not only the regions receive well-deserved attention, but the Kingdom can also showcase its investments and partnerships. What visitors can admire is not only material, but also intellectual: the festival is seen as breeding ground for new ideas and vivid discussions, where nothing is off-topic. Saudi Ambassador to India, Dr. Saud Mohammed Al-Sati, called the festival a “melange of living experiences”.

The festival did not start out as what it is known for today. The vision for the festival was conceived by none other than the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdul Aziz Al Saud. Envisioned as a unifying festival to bring together all traditions and customs of Saudi Arabian regions, the festival started out as a camel race. Over time, it developed into a historical and cultural crossroads. Visitors can now still admire camel races, but also view the stunning range of architecture across the peninsula, eat their way through local delicacies, and attune their ears to the beautiful tunes of the country.
Indeed, the festival has been hailed as vital to Saudi culture by leading journalist Abdulrahman al-Rashed. Al-Janadriyah is not only a display of historical heritage, but is also a part of modern cultural history. It gives a glimpse of the past, the changes the Saudi Kingdom has gone through, and the vast future awaiting the nation. During the past 30 years of its existence, the festival has served as a hotspot for interaction and progress, having sparked discussions, connections, and even strengthened bi-lateral relations between the Kingdom and its special guest countries. Al-Rashed sees the festival as having opened the doors to intellectual and political debate, under an umbrella of openness and understanding. In fact, al-Janadriyah can be understood as a bridge between past and present, conservatism and progressivism, Saudi Arabia and the world, and much more. Over the years, the festival has turned into an institution in its own right that uniquely captures the ongoing changes of the Kingdom, and gives them room to blossom.
Still, there are some aspects that might strike visitors as surprising. As is the case in all large-scale festivities, the awe is tainted by occasional cheap souvenirs, imported toys, and plastic goods that have nothing to do with Saudi culture. As is the case in a globalised world, the traces of foreign influence are visible, even if one does not look carefully. Nonetheless, the organisers of the festival have done well to avoid unnecessary consumerism and to prevent too many vendors of cheap goods. Western visitors may be surprised by the small amount of “non-authentic” Saudi culture. However, what makes the festival unique is also what may baffle:visitors from outside the Gulf may never have heard of al-Janadriyah before. What is considered commonplace in the whole Gulf area is unheard of the further West one goes. Too often, openly celebrating and reliving history, heritage and tradition is connected to perceptions of conservatism and being stuck in the past. Al-Janadriyah does everything to prove this perception wrong and shows that tradition and authenticity can exist in pure beauty. The question remains of how the festival manages to find the unique balance between staying true to the same roots that have been well-preserved for over 30 years, and opening its doors to new and larger influences from the outside.
In Europe and North America, many festivals have become interchangeable. Particularly music festivals or culture fairs share similar programme points, expensive entry prices, the same Asian vendors selling plastic toys, and bands from the same genre playing music for young, wealthy audiences. The inclusivity present as al-Janadriyah is unparalleled in the West, as is the breadth of cultural and historical offers. Where Saudi Arabia builds bridges, many other festivals can be said to only have paths going in the same direction. However, al-Janadriyah may profit from looking towards the West on how to spread the word about the festival. While many European events take over the Internet and the public space for weeks beforehand, the Saudi cultural festival is only known to those from the Gulf, or to those consulting high-quality travel journals. Increased public exposure highlighting the festivals unique qualities and its high impact may profit visitor numbers, as well as the countries represented by visitors. At the moment, visitors mostly come from the Gulf region. However, demystifying the beauty of Arab culture more generally may do well to break down prejudice among the West, and showcase the progressive and inclusive nature of the festival itself.
Despite what many may say, the Saudis can really let their hair down and are not ashamed to show how far the Kingdom has come. Most vitally, the festival has become something of a museum where citizens and guests alike can recall their history, link it to their present, and look ahead to a colourful and culturally stimulating future. This is something that should not remain hidden to the outside world – on the contrary. Al-Janadriyah should fly its flag even higher and take an active step towards the world beyond the Gulf, while still retaining its authenticity and focus on non-tourists. Saudi Arabia has much to show and shouldn’t be afraid to show it. Al-Janadriyah may perhaps be the best example to show that tradition has always connected people – and is likely to continue doing so.

SAUDI ACADEMIC & WRITER*

@ayghamd