Summer festivals suspended as Makkah mourns Prince Naif

The Makkah Governorate has suspended the ongoing Jeddah Summer festival until the weekend following Crown Prince Naif’s death. The Hail Summer Festival also decided to suspend activities during the mourning period. “The suspension of the festivities until the end of the mourning period is our obligatory duty because the death of the prince is a terrible shock to us all,” the festival’s organizing committee’s chairman Adel Al-Hamzani told Arab News. However, he added, suspended events did not include children’s amusements and the shopping festival. Tomax for Concrete Products, a factory in the private sector in Hail, has been closed to mark the mourning of the prince’s death. Company owner Abdullah Al-Adeem told Arab News on Monday: “Crown Prince Naif was a great leader who strove for the security and stability of the Kingdom. “His fight against terror was relentless and it ended with the uprooting of the extremist menace from the Kingdom. “His service to Haj pilgrims is also internationally acclaimed.” He offered his condolences to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the ruling family and the Saudi people in general. Arab News also learned a number of wedding receptions have been postponed in provinces such as Hail, Madinah and Baha until the ending of the mourning period. Saad Al-Otaiby, who runs an agency for singers and photographers, said no singer is willing to sing in receptions or other special occasions during the three days of mourning for the prince’s death.