The Jeddah World Fest international music festival wowed a lucky audience of 40,000 adoring fans like never before in Saudi Arabia. The incredible seven-hour event featured some stunning performances from star talent including Janet Jackson, Liam Payne, Chris Brown, 50 Cent, Tyga, Future, Steve Aoki and R3Wire & Varski. This first of its kind festival in Saudi Arabia was built specifically to unite music fans and to inspire young people through live music experiences. The production necessitated the building of the largest outdoor festival stage in the Middle-East. The event was also produced specifically for global TV viewing and the concert will air around the world in August of this year.
First out on stage were R3Wire & Varski, who were welcomed with a roar of appreciation from the crowd. The pair played remixes of songs like “We Will Rock You” by Queen and The White Stripes ‘Seven Nation Army’ before mixing ‘One Kiss’ by Dua Lipa and Calvin Harris. R3WIRE later posted on Facebook: “Jeddah World Fest in Saudi Arabia was so special! Words cannot describe the love in the air.” Their first-ever ‘Viking Clap’ in Saudi Arabia went down an absolute hit.
After the super-duo set the mood for the night, iconic singer Janet Jackson leaped onto the stage. She sang and danced to hits like ‘All For You’ and her latest track ‘Made for Now’, winning the audiences’ hearts. ‘I love you Jeddah!’ were the star’s parting words.
Next up was Liam Payne, who performed a mix of songs, showing his fantastic vocal range and inspiring the crowd to dance with him when he sang ‘Drag Me Down’ and a cover of ‘Shape of You’ by Ed Sheeran. “The crowd here in Jeddah is amazing!!!” said Payne. “I want to say something really important: Music unites us and it’s good to be here with you tonight.”
After Liam’s thrilling show, Tyga appeared on and performed some of the fans’ favorite hits, including ‘Ice Cream Man’, ‘Taste’, ‘Rock City’ and ‘Hookah’. It was an electric performance. This was followed by rapper Future who began a supercharged set on the stage performing some of his famous tracks like ‘Jumpman’, ‘Low Life’ and ‘Mask Off’.
The energy rose even higher when 50 Cent took to the stage. After the show he tweeted, “My new name is 50 HALALA, so get with the program. I might move out here, I like it!” Following, Chris Brown strutted onto stage to the sound of a deafening roar. The American star opened with ‘Beautiful People’, which was reflective of the positive energy in the crowd. The fans danced non-stop through his fast-paced set, which included ‘Loyal’ featuring Lil Wayne and Tyga.
Closing the festival was a truly breath-taking and inspirational set from American DJ Steve Aoki. Proving they still had lots of energy in reserve, the Jeddah World Fest crowd responded to every hit. Steve Aoki had a very special surprise for the Saudi audience and created a brand new track with female Saudi singer Dalia Mubarak, who joined him on stage for a live performance.
‘I’m very grateful to be here, I have a feeling I have a lot of fans here in Saudi Arabia.’ Aoki told the crowd who had waited until the early hours of the morning to see him. He made sure to return the love he felt at Jeddah World Fest by remixing two special new tracks, including a mix of Egypt’s beloved singer Abdel Halim Hafez and his BTS mix with ‘MIC DROP’.
This is the first year the Jeddah World Fest is held and the event is planned to continue annually for the next five years. Everybody over 16 years of age can attend.
