Saudi money casts shadow over Egypt from sport to stage
Saudi Arabia's controversial sports minister, Turki al-Sheikh, has signed a series of deals with Egyptian entertainment companies to produce content for the kingdom, but many in the sector are far from happy about this development.
Turki al-Sheikh, the controversial Saudi Arabian billionaire and sports minister who has roiled Egypt’s soccer scene, is generating a new tempest with his involvement in the country’s entertainment sector.
In early February, Sheikh, who was appointed chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia in December, inked agreements with several Egyptian entertainment companies. The nature of the contracts varies. One, signed with the Sabah Group, represented by Sadek al-Sabah, involves the production of films featuring Egyptian, Saudi and other Arab actors to premier in Saudi Arabia. Others contracts are with the singers Amr Diab, Hani Shaker and Mohamed Hamaqi and the poets Amir Toaimeh and Ayman Bahgat Kamar for performances in the kingdom.
Another of Sheikh’s contracts is with Cairo Show, a production company recently launched by the director Magdi al-Hawari. Under the contract, “Three Days in the Coast,” starring Mohamed Henedi, and “King Lear,” starring Yehya al-Fakhrani, will be shown in the kingdom.
Even before any deals were signed, Cairo Show productions and the other Egyptian parties had come in for severe criticism as news of Sheikh's intentions emerged. On Jan. 27, Moataz el-Shafeay, an amateur actor with the theater of the Faculty of Literature at Cairo University, posted on Facebook that while many would agree that Egyptian theater has been going downhill, it is questionable whether Sheikh’s funding is the solution.
