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Stage Management: Spectacles, Sidelining And Dissent

by Senior Analyst Talal Kapoor

As part of Vision 2030, the ambitious project of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) to put the Kingdom on the map as a global economic powerhouse, sports and entertainment events have come to dominate public life. Controversy has dogged Saudi efforts to muscle its way into pro golf, motorsports and football, however, with the use of seemingly unlimited resources to buy up players, teams and leagues dubbed "sportwashing", to highlight the dissonance between, on the one hand, sharing the stage with liberal Western nations, while on the other, religious leaders, human rights activists and political dissidents who express criticism of the country's leadership face severe repression at home. But the hosting of music festivals featuring big-name stars has also been controversial, as the open and public display of what would otherwise be punished has not gone unnoticed.

Entertainment mega-events, in which Western singers and rappers are allowed to perform in Riyadh and Jiddah, while men and women in the audience mix freely, have now become the norm, a social upheaval previously unthinkable in the ultra-conservative nation. A few, such a Nicki Minaj, have refused to play over human rights concerns, but others, including the Black Eyed Peas, Enrique Iglesias and David Guetta, have accepted the invitation. Cuban-American rapper Pitbull and his dancers played to a sold-out crowd in October 2021, but it was Australian rapper Iggy Azalea who later provoked a storm of outrage.

At the Gamers8 esports tournament in Riyadh, her performance was condemned for contradicting Islamic values, with her choice of dress and controversial lyrics called out on social median as an egregious violation of Saudi cultural and religious norms. Most focused on her decision to include the song "Goddess", which questioned the role of prophets and asked people to "bow down to a goddess", suggesting that it was inappropriate and insulting, but her "wardrobe malfunction", when a dress tore and exposed her thigh, added fuel to the fire. Azalea was ordered to change, but exited the stage shortly after, claiming later that Saudi authorities halted the concert due to her lyrics, which, she said, sent them "over the edge".

Many at the concert, too, had jeered upon hearing the song, highlighting the overlapping controversies - while some were deeply offended at the religious affront (previously, people have been imprisoned for promoting "apostasy, unbelief, and atheism", with an entire arm of government - the feared "mutawa'a", or religious police - devoted to enforcing compliance with custom), others could not help but contrast the freewheeling performance with the repressive atmosphere that dissidents, activists and critics struggle to navigate.

The inconsistency in approach is striking - since 2017 there has been a wave of arrests targeting critics and opponents, but members of the previously untouchable religious establishment have been among the hardest hit. Reformist Sunni scholars such as Salman al-Awdah, Ali al-Umari and Awad al-Qarni were the most high-profile figures to suffer, though there are dozens of lesser known names. al-Awdah, an internationally renowned scholar and cleric known for his progressive views, was detained in September 2017, while Musa al-Qarni, a dissident academic and cleric, died while serving a 15-year prison term, allegedly a result of severe beatings and torture while in detention. He was arrested in 2007 and sentenced in 2011 during a trial against the "Jiddah reformers", a group of activists arrested in February 2007, accused of trying to form an organization opposed to the Saudi government. The crackdown is all the more jarring for the presence of Turki Al al-Shaykh, scion of a notable family and head of the entertainment authority, who opened Azalea's performance by addressing the crowd, highlighting the extent to which the establishment has been co-opted by the state.

Related articles: Reform, Crackdown and Succession: Continuity or Disruption?
Spectacle and Ceremony: Honoring Tradition or Managing Expectation?
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