Saudi Arabia, an ultra-conservative country, is planning to legalise alcohol at 600 tourist spots ahead of hosting the 2034 World Cup. It will allow the sale of wine, beer, and cider at licensed locations, such as five-star hotels. Saudi Arabia believes that allowing alcohol at certain tourist sites will help the country compete with the UAE and Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia, once an ultra-conservative country, is planning to legalise alcohol use at 600 tourist spots ahead of hosting the 2034 World Cup football, according to reports. The country has already taken a liberal turn under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and allowed women to drive, reopened cinemas and hosted music concerts. But allowing alcohol, beer, wine and cider by a Muslim country would be quite a radical step.
Saudi Arabia will allow the sale of wine, beer, and cider at licensed locations, including five-star hotels, luxury resorts, and expat-friendly compounds at 600 tourist sites, according to a report in The US Sun.
Saudi authorities believe allowing alcohol at certain tourist sites would help the country compete with the UAE and Bahrain, where alcohol is allowed at some tourist hotspots.
Drinks and liquor with more than 20% alcohol content will remain banned, according to a report by the UK-based Metro, which quoted local Saudi media.
Though Saudi Arabia is allowing soft alcohol with an eye on tourism, the general ban on booze in public, homes, and shops will remain, according to The Sun report.
SAUDI TO END 73-YEAR-OLD ALCOHOL BAN?
The move to allow beer and wine ahead of the 2034 World Cup will in effect bring to an end Saudi Arabia’s 73-year ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol, said The UK’s Metro.
Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 under Abdulaziz Al Saud with a legal system based on Wahhabi Islam, a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam.
It followed Sharia law and alcohol was always forbidden, but the actual state-level enforcement and legal ban on alcohol sales and consumption was formalised in 1952.
FIRST ALCOHOL STORE OPENED IN RIYADH IN 2024
The store is in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter. It caters exclusively to non-Muslim diplomats and currently stocks liquor, wine, and a limited selection of just two types of beer, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Access is restricted to customers with valid diplomatic identification.
Upon entry, mobile phones must be sealed in pouches. Purchases are managed through a mobile app that operates on an allotment system, according to a diplomat familiar with the process.
Alcohol had been available only through diplomatic mail or on the black market.
MBS GIVING LIBERAL TURN TO SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), is writing a story of transformation, giving up its traditional image and ushering in a new era of openness and modernity. One of the reasons is to diversify its oil money-based economy to tourism.
