JEDDAH: Khathem Al-Saher’s concerts have been canceled according to viral tweets as the event completely disappeared from the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) calendar.
Al-Saher is an Iraqi singer, composer and songwriter. He has been dubbed the “Caesar of Arabic Songs,” and “Iraq’s Ambassador to the world.”
Saudi fans were thrilled to hear the news of him performing on New Year’s in Jeddah, as per the GEA calendar. Khathem was to perform during a two day tour in Jeddah and Riyadh.
Cancelation news came through a tweet by famous movie critic Maher Mousy that went viral: “Apparently Khathem’s concert is canceled as the events calendar on his official Facebook account doesn’t include any information about the concert, although many further events were mentioned!”
A tweet by Abdullah Makharish, a Saudi art journalist read: “Exclusive: The two concerts of Khathem Al-Saher in Jeddah and Riyadh were canceled.”
Many people expressed their disappointment of the sudden cancelation.
Arab News contacted GEA and officials refused to cite any reason for the cancelation.
@rosnama_sa the official Instagram account of the Saudi Entertainment calendar posted a text that said: “Kathem’s concert to be scheduled later and the good news is that Abdulmajeed Abdullah to perform soon, stay tuned.”
Fans of the Greek star Yanni can still buy tickets as they are available, and no cancelations were mentioned.
Cheb Khalid, who is an Algerian Rai musician, famous for his songs, “Didi,” “Aicha” and “C’est la Vie,” will perform in Jeddah along with American rapper Nelly on December 14.