Fireworks on Jeddah Corniche have become an essential part of the summer festivities. (AN photo)

The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry has announced that the Jeddah Summer Festival will be launched on June 5 to coincide with the start of the summer vacation.

Adnan bin Hussein Mandoura said the decision to launch the festival at the beginning of the summer vacation was on the directive of Prince Mishaal bin Majed, governor of Jeddah and chairman of the Tourist Development Council, who met with the organizers for updates on the preparations for the festival.

This year the chamber plans to make the Jeddah summer festival the biggest tourism festival in the Kingdom, aiming to attract over 2 million visitors. The organizing committee has lined up more than 100 events of entertainment, social, sports and cultural activities, with 15 car prizes, cash prizes for visitors for different activities and lucky draws exceeding SR2.5 million.

The events will take place over 24 days in 30 different Malls, parks and tourist sites to mark the festival.

Mandoura said that this year the organizers are planning to showcase tourist products that will contribute to reinforce Jeddah’s status in the local and regional tourism markets. He also said that the public would enjoy a new version of the festival which is focused on Jeddah’s unique identity and long history as the Bride of the Red Sea, a history which goes back hundreds of years.

The Jeddah festival will be diversified to meet the aspirations and hopes of all patrons, to show the attractions of the bride as a top tourist destination in the Kingdom and the Gulf.
He thanked Prince Mishaal for his continuous support in maintaining the Supreme Committee for the festival.

Elaborating on the events in the summer festival, Mandoura said that there would be 35 activities including water polo, roller skating, rowing, iron man contest, football, beach soccer, entertainment village for children, creative art and drama, treasure island, Sesame Street, stand-up comedy and a model car racing contest. Besides, there would be a number of fun and entertainment activities and cultural events including skills to manage stage fright, awareness programs on anti-drug, anti-asthma, blood donation, women’s health and anti-smoking and educational lectures delivered by experts in the field.

This year a team of Saudi cooks will make the largest kabsa (dish of rice and lamb or chicken) and try to enter the Guinness book of world records.
The final list of the events will be announced with the start of the summer holidays.