Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Popular Resistance Committees: We call on all international institutions to take urgent action and uphold their responsibilities by restoring and immediately enforcing effective mechanisms for the distribution of humanitarian aid.
The Popular Resistance Committees: The latest Zio-American crime against Gaza’s starving civilians constitutes a war crime, for which the US administration bears full and direct responsibility.
Gaza Media Office: Bloody spectacle shows that these zones have become collective death traps rather than aid distribution zones.
Gaza Media Office: Dozens of citizens are still surrounded under constant fire in the vicinity of the "aid station."
Gaza Media Office: As soon as citizens arrived, occupation and Americans opened direct fire on them.
Gaza Media Office: Occupation, in complicity with the US company, called on citizens to move toward Wadi Gaza Bridge, claiming that aid would be distributed.
Gaza Government Media Office: Occupation set a bloody trap at bridge of Wadi Gaza, luring thousands of starved civilians, and opened fire on them.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli drone drops sonic grenade in town of Ramiyah.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli drone strike targets vehicle in town of Beit Lif.
The Government Media Office in Gaza: The occupation’s latest crime is further evidence of its ongoing implementation of genocide through starvation.

Vice Media sneakily organized $20m Saudi festival

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 1 Feb 2022 16:10
3 Min Read

In a blow to worldwide humanitarian calls to halt all work in blood-spattered Saudi Arabia, American-Canadian Youth media company planned March 2020 event.

  • x
  • The Azimuth music festival, held in the Saudi desert
    The Azimuth music festival, held in the Saudi desert

Saudi Arabia’s lavish Azimuth music festival, all subsidized by its government, was secretly organized by American-Canadian youth media company Vice.

Insiders at Vice informed The Guardian that the corporation was once again aggressively pursuing business prospects in Saudi Arabia, just three years after officially announcing that it was stopping all activity in the country owing to the aftermath of the state-ordered murder of journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

Read More: Bin Salman’s “Cyberweapon”: Not Only Against Saudis

 

The ugly truth is out: Vice is still doing business in Saudi Arabia despite the latter’s horrendous slate of human rights abuses, from torture reports to jailing journalists, to executing dissidents.

“Vice employees have for years raised concerns over the company’s involvement with Saudi Arabia – and we’ve been fobbed off with empty statements and pathetic excuses,” said one Vice employee told The Guardian.

The Azimuth music festival, which took place during the onset of the Covid epidemic and attracted little attention in the western media, is thought to have been extremely profitable for Vice. The overall budget, according to business employees, was $20 million (£15 million).

Related News

Vice files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to facilitate sale

Azimuth Festival 2020, AlUla, KSA. Where History Meets Culture.
Until next year !#AzimuthFestival#WhereHistoryMeetsCulture pic.twitter.com/fI7YjK9rqt

— AzimuthFestival فعالية السّمت (@AzimuthFestival) March 19, 2020

Vice's name was kept out of the event as much as possible. Contractors on the music festival, which was organized by Vice's creative marketing agency Virtue, had to sign non-disclosure agreements, and Vice's name was not used in any public marketing materials.

As Saudi Arabia is desperately attempting to whitewash its human rights abuses with entertainment and Vice is dealing with allegations of sexual harassment, the two seem to be a good match.

The blood-stained money offered by Saudi Arabia has pleased Vice's greed, and the company inaugurated last year an office in Riyadh.

The company also has a pact to develop promotional films for the kingdom with the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, a company with deep ties to the Saudi government that also has a collaboration with the Independent and Evening Standard.

“It is astounding that – despite ongoing opposition from staff – Vice is still happy to take money from a country that was literally responsible for the state-sanctioned murder of a journalist,” one employee told The Guardian.

He also stressed that Vice executives were acutely aware of the potential reputational damage that could be caused if its western audience became aware of the extent to which it was working with Saudi Arabia.

Recently, Saudi Arabia has been using the star-studded faces of international celebrities to whitewash its slate - most notably its horrendous record war crimes in Yemen - in addition to hosting sports and cultural events, such as the most recent Formula One event that included a Justin Bieber performance, among many others. 

Read More: 2021 Roundup: Sportswashing human rights violations

  • Vice Media
  • Saudi Festival
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Azimuth Festival
  • March 2020
  • Jamal Khashoggi
  • Yemen

Most Read

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington (AP)

Rift widens: Trump, Netanyahu clash in heated phone call over Iran

  • Politics
  • 26 May 2025
US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump tensions

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump pressures

  • US & Canada
  • 25 May 2025
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 29, 2025 (AP)

Hamas rejects Witkoff ceasefire plan, says alters terms

  • Politics
  • 29 May 2025
Spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announces a new operation against Ben Gurion Airport on May 29, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen announces successful hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion

  • Politics
  • 30 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
MIT bans class president who gave pro-Palestine speech
US & Canada

MIT bans class president over pro-Palestine speech

Arab ministers condemn Israel 'ban' on planned West Bank visit
Politics

Arab ministers condemn Israeli ban on planned West Bank visit

Major General Hu Gangfeng, Vice President, National Defense University, People's Liberation Army, China, leaves after a panel discussion during the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Politics

China blasts Hegseth, calls US top 'troublemaker' in Asia-Pacific

US activists demand shutdown of Musk's 'dirty' supercomputer: Reports
Technology

US activists demand shutdown of Musk's 'dirty' supercomputer: NBC News

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS