DiscoverThe News MeetingWhy are top comedians performing at a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia?
Why are top comedians performing at a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia?

Why are top comedians performing at a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia?

Update: 2025-09-25
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This weekend marks the first-ever Riyadh Comedy Festival, with Jimmy Carr, Aziz Ansari, and Dave Chappelle on the bill. It’s being reported they are each being paid upwards of $375,000 to perform in a country which severely restricts freedom of speech. What does Trump’s cryptic “good luck to all” at the UN really mean for Ukraine - and should we be worried? Is the breakthrough on Huntington’s disease The News Meeting’s first genuinely good news story? 


Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer’s International Editor, Steve Bloomfield, and reporters Rachael Healy and James Tapper as they pitch the top story of the day


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Host: Giles Whittell, Deputy Editor-In-Chief


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Why are top comedians performing at a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia?

Why are top comedians performing at a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia?