Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman will launch on Wednesday night the 30th Janadriyah festival, which will see a range of events take place highlighting the Kingdom’s culture.

The king will attend the 19-km Arab camel race, which will see 1,200 racers from the Kingdom and GCC countries participate for SR1.5 million and several luxury cars as prizes.

He will also honor Abu Aqeel Abdulrahman Al-Dhahiri, a prominent Saudi linguistics and religious scholar as the year’s “Cultural Personality.” Al-Dhahiri will be granted the King Abdul Aziz First Class Medal for his services.

King Salman has invited several GCC leaders to attend the festival, including Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Sultan Qaboos of Oman and Kuwait’s Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country is this year’s guest of honor, will attend with a large delegation.

Michael Ohnmacht, German deputy head of mission and spokesperson, told Arab News that it was a great honor for Germany.

According to Ohnmacht, the German participation will take place under the slogan “Germany — Land of Ideas: Innovation has tradition.” There would be several exhibitions focusing on German culture, including artists, dancers and musicians. The festival is named after a village located around 40 km northwest of the capital Riyadh, and has been organized by the Ministry of National Guard since 1985. It features handicrafts, children’s plays, visual art exhibitions, folk dances, poetry readings, and seminars on current events.

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