Musicians and composers will meet tomorrow, Thursday, March 9, at the opening of the Oud Festival, the largest Arab gathering of oud players, which is held by the

General Entertainment Authority in cooperation with the Music Commission. The festival has judges that include famous musicians: Abdullah Bahashwan, Khaled Mohammed Ali, Hamad Brosli, Mamdouh Al-Jabali, and Charbel Rouhana.

The festival, which is held within the activities of Riyadh Calendar in the Music sub-zone at Boulevard Riyadh City, includes an exhibition that includes rare ouds from around the world and another exhibition for the most famous oud manufacturers in the world. There will be discussion sessions on the origins of playing the oud, as well as music performances in which talented musicians present play the oud in different ways.
Participants compete for prizes amounting to hundreds of thousands of Saudi riyals. The prizes for the professional category at the Oud Festival amount to SAR150,000 for the first place, SAR100,000 for the second place, and SAR50,000 for the third place. The first-place prize for both amateurs and female musicians reaches SAR75,000. The second-place prize is SAR50,000, and the third-place prize is SAR25,000.
The Oud Festival continues for 3 days until March 11, during which musicians aspire to win by presenting their oud-playing skills. The festival is one of the musical competitions within the activities of Riyadh Calendar.