<span>My working year </span><span>beg</span><span>an and is now ending in Saudi Arabia. In January,</span><span> I was in the historic desert city of Al Ula to see a hologram performance of Egyptian </span><span>singer Umm Kulthum</span><span> and this week I was </span><span>among </span><span>the 200,000 people in</span><span> Riyadh</span><span> checking out the three-day MDL Beast </span><span>festival, the biggest dance music event ever held in the region</span><span>. Throw in a midyear sojourn to Jeddah to cover an arts festival and I can tell you this </span><span>was the year the kingdom's cultural landscape </span><span>was truly </span><span>revitalised</span><span>.</span> <span>I choose that word carefully, as there have been a few suspect comments made by well-intentioned folk </span><span>with regard to what is happening across Saudi Arabia. A lot of that chatter, found mostly in the press and on social media, went on to praise these developments in too-dramatic terms.</span> <span>An acquaintance of mine on Twitter </span><span>described </span><span>an image I posted of thousands of fans at the MDL Beast </span><span>festival dancing along to a set by French DJ David Guetta as similar to crowds breaking down the Berlin Wall in 1989. </span><span>US actor Armie Hammer, who </span><span>attended the festival, described what he saw as a "social evolution" similar to Woodstock.</span> <span>While th</span><span>ose comments were meant well, they </span><span>actually do a disservice to the </span><span>young people of</span><span> Saudi Arabia. </span> <span>While </span><span>what was said by people such as Hammer sounds romantic, what's happening in the kingdom is not some new dawn, but a confirmation of what anyone paying attention to the region</span><span> already kn</span><span>ew</span><span>: Saudi</span><span>s always had a deep love for arts and culture. </span><span> </span> <span>Saudis have played an important role in the Arab world's cultural milestones</span><span>. Examples include Raja Alem shaking up the patriarchal Arabic literary scene in 2011 </span><span>when she became the f<a href="http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/books/winners-of-this-year-s-ipaf-talk-about-their-novels-1.421621?videoId=5766484581001">irst woman to win the International Prize for Arabic Fiction</a>. The award was given for her daring novel </span><span><em>The Dove's Necklace</em></span><span>, which </span><span>is set in cosmopolitan Makkah</span><span>.</span> <span>One of the first musicians to tour the UAE was </span><span>renowned singer Mohamed Abdo. </span>In a <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/mohamed-abdo-on-keeping-khaleeji-songs-relevant-1.42524?videoId=5762294979001">2015 interview with <em>The National</em></a>, <span>he recalled how in the early 1970s he was invited by Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, </span><span>to perform in the Emirates in a bid to kick-start </span><span>its live music scene. "I remember the late, great Sheikh Zayed would always provide encouragement to us artists and was a big supporter of live music,"</span><span> Abdo said.</span> <span>That pioneering streak continued </span><span>with the next generation of Saudi artists</span><span>. </span><span>In the early 2000s, </span><a href="https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/saudi-hip-hop-artist-qusai-lends-voice-to-arabic-version-of-spies-in-disguise-1.950432">Qusai</a> <span></span><span>became one of the first Gulf rappers to perform in the US</span><span>, while dance music producer Omar Basaad is one of the few </span><span>acts from the region to regularly tour</span><span> the world.</span> <span>Speaking </span><span>to Bassad </span><span>minutes after 50,000 people watched his </span><span>set at MDL Beast</span><span>, </span><span>he told me the best </span><span>was yet to come when it comes to Saudi talent. "The scene here is absolutely buzzing and we are ready to go," he said. "It may have taken a while, but we are back on track and everyone now is watching us."</span> <span>I can't wait to see what the </span><span>kingdom's creatives have in store in 2020.</span> <strong>_________________</strong> <strong>Read more:</strong> <strong><a href="https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/i-don-t-have-to-leave-saudi-for-fun-anymore-mdl-beast-represents-a-paradigm-shift-in-the-kingdom-1.954878">'I don't have to leave Saudi for fun anymore': MDL Beast represents a 'paradigm shift' in the kingdom</a></strong> <strong><a href="https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/from-parties-of-15-people-to-hundreds-even-thousands-saudi-djs-on-the-explosion-of-their-edm-scene-1.952699">'From parties of 15 people to hundreds, even thousands': Saudi DJs on the explosion of their EDM scene</a></strong> <strong>_________________</strong>