Saudi Arabia staged world-famous opera Carmen for the first time at Riyadh’s King Fahad Cultural Center recently, a milestone cooperation with the China National Opera House. The show, as part of the Saudi-China Cultural Year marking 35 years of diplomatic ties, attracted more than 2,500 guests and officials.
Global media hailed the performance as a milestone in culture, combining Chinese and French flavors in a new production of the opera in Saudi Arabia. The audience members characterized the event as extraordinary and a milestone in the Kingdom’s increased involvement with international arts.
Yet, while this cultural entrance is cause for celebration, it cannot be allowed to deflect from Saudi Arabia’s persistent human rights abuses, systemic oppression, and misuse of migrant labor. The latter concerns are grave ethical objections to the Kingdom hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup, questioning whether glitz and reputation are enough to excuse the hidden abuses.
Cultural Spectacle as Soft Power
Saudi Arabia’s production of Carmen is a prime example of how the Kingdom employs cultural festivals to present a vision of modernization and global smarts. Although the performance is historic, it is also a soft power instrument aimed at improving global reputation. Important Points:
- Cultural festivals produce a lie of openness and progressive reform.
- High-level productions such as Carmen distract from structural oppression.
- Global audiences tend to watch only the spectacle and not the repression that underlies it.
Ringing in the global events like the FIFA World Cup could further sanctify Saudi Arabia’s reputation without dealing with fundamental human rights concerns.
By marrying world-class arts with state messaging, Saudi Arabia uses cultural diplomacy to deflect attention from persistent abuses, such as repression of free expression, restrictions on women’s rights, and brutal treatment of activists. These efforts are finely tuned for consumption by global audiences but do not lead to meaningful social reform at home.
Human Rights Violations: The Stark Reality
Despite cultural displays, Saudi Arabia remains severely criticized by the international community for human rights violations. In its 2023 report, the U.S. Department of State asserts that the Kingdom commits arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, and torture. Women human rights defenders are imprisoned, subjected to travel bans, and physically harassed for campaigning for fundamental freedoms. Foreign workers, particularly those participating in mega-projects like NEOM, suffer under exploitative employment, substandard accommodation, and delayed payment of wages. Key Points:
- Arbitrary detentions and restrictions on free speech are still prevalent.
- Thousands of Women activists are frequently jailed or harassed for advocacy.
- Migrant workers experience dangerous working conditions, excessive working hours, and delayed payments.
- International human rights norms are habitually broken, posing an ethical challenge to international organizations such as FIFA.
Having the FIFA World Cup in these conditions has the potential to normalize these abuses. The cultural programs of the Kingdom, such as the Carmen opera, cannot replace ethical leadership or human rights.
NEOM Megaproject: Gigantic Labor Exploitation
The NEOM project, a $500 billion centerpiece of Saudi Vision 2030, illustrates the Kingdom’s systemic labor exploitation. Reports indicate that over 21,000 migrant workers have died due to extreme heat, unsafe conditions, and excessive working hours. Many are trapped by recruitment fees and restrictive contracts, effectively creating modern-day slavery.
Construction for sporting events such as the World Cup would probably reflect similar conditions, putting thousands of workers in harm’s way for the purposes of infrastructure and global spectacle. NEOM puts a spotlight on the glaring contradiction between Saudi Arabia’s outward cultural gains and its internal abuses.
Women’s Rights and Social Repression
While Saudi Arabia has introduced symbolic reforms, such as allowing women to drive, the broader social repression remains. Women who advocate for equality face imprisonment, intimidation, and harassment. Cases like activist Loujain al-Hathloul illustrate the ongoing risk faced by women challenging social norms.
It conflicts with FIFA’s principles of justice, inclusivity, and equality to hold a global sporting event under such a setting. Women competitors, employees, and spectators might suffer actual harm, and it would be morally questionable to support Saudi Arabia as a host.
Global Perception vs. Domestic Reality
Saudi Arabia’s cultural pursuits, like the opera of Carmen, are globally highly publicized to imply newness and modernity. The global audiences get to hear only about these events and might think the Kingdom is embracing openness and reforms. The real life inside the country is quite different from that. Normal citizens, feminist activists, and migrant laborers are still subjected to limitations, harassment, and abuse.
This contrast between reality and perception also underscores the risk of praising Saudi Arabia’s cultural gains while overlooking the systemic violations under the veneer. Hosting the FIFA World Cup may even perpetuate this gap, creating a glossy exterior while paying no heed to persistent human rights abuses.
International Concerns and Calls for Oversight
Global human rights groups have called on FIFA to place independent oversight on Saudi Arabia’s plans for the 2034 World Cup. Specialists suggest:
- Applying stringent labor and human rights standards.
- Protecting activists, women, and vulnerable groups.
- Watching over construction sites for the safety of workers.
Without enforceable accountability, Saudi Arabia has the potential to use culture spectacles such as Carmen and international sporting events to whitewash its global reputation while systemic abuses persist.
Sports and Ethics: Why FIFA Must Take a Stand
Mega sporting events are not just about sport—these represent equality, harmony, and international cooperation. Allowing Saudi Arabia to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup despite credible reports of human rights abuses erodes these principles. Cultural milestones cannot take the place of responsibility. FIFA needs to guarantee that its host nations adhere to ethical standards that safeguard human rights, labor safety, and social liberties.
Why FIFA Needs to Reconsider Saudi Arabia’s 2034 Hosting Bid
Saudi Arabia’s historical Carmen opera bespeaks cultural aspiration, but it cannot hide systemic repression, labor abuse, or women’s subjection. Bidding for the 2034 FIFA World Cup in such an environment would validate the hosting of such an event by a government that values spectacle over ethics.
FIFA and the global community need to create high human rights standards for hosting rights, such that sports continue to be a vehicle for justice, equality, and dignity. Supporters and human rights activists need to call for accountability, acknowledging that achievements in culture should not be used as a smokescreen for oppression.