Metallica on stage after their performance at the “Helping Hands Concert” on December 16, 2022 in Los Angeles.
Photo: Getty Images for P+ and MTV, Jeff Kravitz. All rights reserved.
Give on December 14, 2023Metallicaa concert in Saudi Arabia. As headliners of the “Soundstorm” festival, they are also the first major metal band to perform at a public event in the desert state. In addition to other headliners likePharrell WilliamsChris Brown, HER, andblack Eyed Peasthe band plays at the three-day festival. The organizers expect around 600,000 guests.
The quartet announced the date on Instagram and wrote: “We’re not done with 2023 yet, as we’ve just been given the great opportunity to perform at a big festival that we’ve never played before, all in one Part of the world we rarely visit. We are excited to announce that on Thursday, December 14th, we will be the first hard rock band to ever play at MDLBeast’s ‘Soundstorm’ Festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.”
Metal performances are a rarity
Public metal performances rarely take place in Saudi Arabia. Metallica only made their live debut in the Middle East in 2011 in Abu Dhabi. With their upcoming show in Saudi Arabia they will also be performing for the first time and as the first major metal band in Saudi Arabia. The Metallica gig could cause discussions. In Saudi Arabia, basic human rights are not respected. On a scale of political and civil liberties from 1 (greatest freedom) to 7 (least freedom), the “Freedom in the World” report classifies Saudi Arabia as not free (7) in terms of political rights and not free (7) in terms of civil liberties. In 2012, the Economist published a democracy rating with Saudi Arabia, which is an absolute monarchy under the leadership of Mohammed bin Salman, in 163rd place out of 167 countries. Homosexual acts are also punishable in Saudi Arabia.
Metallica – M72 World Tour
Metallica were on tour in 2023 and will play another show in Germany in 2024. They play a double concert in each city with two different set lists and support line-ups. In 2024 they will play two more dates in the Munich Olympic Stadium.
Events:
- May 24th, 2024 Munich Olympic Stadium
- May 26, 2024 Munich Olympic Stadium