Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will inaugurate the ceremony in which South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will be the guest of honor this year, which marks the 50th year of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Riyadh.
Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, minister of state, Cabinet's member, commander of the National Guard, and chairman of the festival's supreme committee, expressed thanks to and appreciation of the king for his patronage of the festival which represents “A Medal of Honor for the National Guard” and all agencies participating in the festival, in addition to being in support of the march of culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab world.
He welcomed the festival's guests and the participation of the Republic of South Korea as a guest of honor at the festival.
The Ministry of Culture and Information has started to broadcast programs and news items through Saudi Press Agency, TV and radio, about the Janadriyah festival.
A 700-strong team of media personnel equipped with the latest communication devices and techniques for TV channels' live-transmission will cover the festival’s cultural activities.
On this occasion, SPA has assigned an electronic link to its website, to provide reports and photographs of the festival round the clock; this coverage will be carried out by 52 personnel from the agency including editors, photographers, and communications technicians.
Saudi Television has prepared a special channel called Realty TV to cover this year’s festival, the first of its kind since the start of the festival 26 years ago.
Saudi television has prepared to cover the festival with a team of 600 personnel including photographers, technicians, editors, and broadcasters.
This year the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), for the first time, will showcase more than 14,000 retrieved antique pieces in the festival. SCTA also plans to organize an international seminar on retrieval of antiquities on the sidelines of the expo. International experts on antiquities' recovery will participate in the seminar.
It is also notable that King Abdullah ordered the cancellation two major events, a musical opera and Ardha dance, as a gesture of Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with the people of Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Tunis.
The National Guard organizes the festival every year. South Korea is the guest country in the prestigious Saudi national festival this year.
The Korean pavilion at Janadriyah will feature Korean culture, history and tradition. Also, the pavilion will have a time tunnel that will introduce the exchange of history between the Korean and the Arab world, especially the Arabian Peninsula from the past to the present, including the Islamic era. And there will be folklore and modern dances as part of the pavilion activities.
