A few days ago we saw the news of Saudi Arabia’s first ever ‘halal’ nightclub that was launching. It definitely left many of us confused as to how a nightclub could be ‘halal’ and still considered a club. Unfortunately, on opening night the club was shut down by authorities.
The club which is called WHITE was set for opening night on the 13th of June. WHITE is located in Jeddah which is a coastal city. The concept allows for both genders to dance together with non-alcoholic beverages being served at the bar.
On the day before opening night a video was uploaded to social media where a woman explained the set up of the club. This caught the attention of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA).
Opening night rolls around and GEA has informed the nightclub that they are to be temporarily shut down.
GEA then posted to its Twitter account saying “According to information provided, the event was in violation of the legal procedure and regulations, and was not authorised by the body. The GEA had originally issued a license for another event. Its contractor then took advantage of an extension of that license to commit these serious and unacceptable violations.”
For opening night, WHITE had organised for US singer Ne-Yo to perform for the crowd. While on his way to the venue he was informed that the club would be temporarily shut down.
Taking to Instagram he wrote “On the way to the venue I was informed it had been shutdown. Guess we’ll try it again another time. Much love to my folks at WHITE.”
People who were waiting in line to watch his performance reportedly waited for about four hours before being turned away.
