As the lights went down at Boulevard City’s SEF Arena for the launch of Joy Forum 2025, the world saw a dazzling array of international celebrity power up close. Sports stars such as Dana White, Shaquille O’Neal, and Novak Djokovic appeared alongside entertainment industry leaders from Netflix and WWE, with internet sensations like MrBeast receiving thunderous applause. The reason behind the event, Saudi officials said, was to mark the Kingdom’s growing presence in the world of entertainment.
But beneath the spectacle is a more orchestrated tale. The Joy Forum was not just a cultural event — it was an assiduously constructed public relations stunt, a teaser of the bigger image project to follow: the 2034 FIFA World Cup. For Saudi Arabia, forums like the Joy Forum are crucial milestones in a decades-long effort of “sportswashing” and “entertainment-washing”, leveraging international sports and media to remake an authoritarian regime as modern, forward-thinking, and open.
From Entertainment to Image Engineering
The transformation of Saudi Arabia into an entertainment center from a closed, conservative society has happened with incredible speed. Just a decade ago, cinemas were prohibited, concerts were few and far between, and public entertainment was strictly controlled. Today, via the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), billions are being invested in music festivals, boxing matches, electronic sporting events, and international sporting deals.
In the Joy Forum, UFC President Dana White commended Saudi Arabia for “reviving combat sports.” NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal described the Kingdom’s emergence in sport as “an exceptional achievement,” and WWE President Nick Khan complimented Riyadh as “one of the most powerful and successful partners” in the world of wrestling.
These words are an echo of how international stars are wooed — and rewarded — to promote the Saudi narrative of “entertainment as modernity.” But what is not said on those shining stages is the continued repression that is driving the kingdom’s image crisis.
A Dress Rehearsal for FIFA 2034
Witnesses view Joy Forum 2025 as a dry run for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Saudi Arabia in less than a decade. The parallels are compelling: both invite international scrutiny, both depend on the attendance of high-profile international personalities, and both present an image of “joy” and “oneness” that contrasts sharply with local conditions.
The Joy Forum’s motto — embracing “the future of global entertainment” — fits hand in glove with the wider Vision 2030 vision. Its crown jewel will be the FIFA World Cup, an international stage on which Saudi Arabia will use to prove that it has left its record on human rights at home. But beneath the slick branding is a more mercenary purpose: to make normal an authoritarian state in the language of sport that everyone can understand.
Sportswashing in Action
The “sportswashing” term captures the way states employ sporting competitions to divert attention from political oppression. Saudi Arabia has taken this global business practice to its full potential. As per statistics compiled by Grant Liberty, the Kingdom has invested more than $6.3 billion in sports transactions since 2021 — from buying English football club Newcastle United to staging Formula 1 events, boxing events, and WWE matches.
The investment return is not quantified in profit but in perception. When Djokovic expresses gratitude to Saudi Arabia for its “remarkable events,” or MrBeast mocks launching a new sport in Riyadh, these catchphrases feed into a global narrative: Saudi Arabia is no longer a land of restrictions, but of opportunity and imagination. That is exactly the image the regime is determined to fix before the world points cameras at Riyadh in 2034.
Nevertheless, the gap between picture and reality is still keen. Freedom House’s 2024 report assigns Saudi Arabia a score of 8 out of 100 on international freedom measures.
Reporters Without Borders places the Kingdom 170th among 180 nations in terms of media freedom. Amnesty International documented 91 killings in the first half of 2024 alone, most after summary trials. Women’s rights activists like Loujain al-Hathloul continue to be circumscribed notwithstanding global attention.
Joy Forum: The Soft Power Facade
Saudi Arabia’s entertainment policy is not merely about enjoyment; it’s about soft power. Hosting cultural events, inking Hollywood deals, and inviting sporting icons to Riyadh all help build a parallel story of openness that rivals the one presented by human rights groups.
By linking “joy” and “creativity” to the Saudi name, the regime wants to frame the debate about reform, not repression. The name of the Joy Forum itself — evoking happiness and hope — stands so cruelly at odds with what happens to those silenced for calling for fundamental freedoms. As one exiled Saudi activist wrote,
“Our people are jailed for a tweet, yet our leaders celebrate ‘joy’ with the world.”
FIFA’s Complicity
FIFA’s move to hand over the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without a competitive bid has been met with international criticism from human rights organizations. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have issued warnings that FIFA is making the same mistakes it did over Qatar 2022, where thousands of migrant workers lost their lives building tournament facilities.
The 2034 tournament has the potential to be the biggest sportswashing endeavor in history. By the time it comes, Saudi Arabia’s international entertainment drive — from Joy Forum to Riyadh Season to record esports investments — will have developed a sophisticated PR bulwark. Each celebrity’s support and shiny headline serves to push criticism further away from ongoing abuses.
The Cost of “Joy”
Saudi authorities prefer to portray their entertainment revolution as proof of modernization. But modernization without freedom is merely managed image-crafting. For a government that still executes dissidents, jails journalists, and stifles free speech, bringing in global celebrities is a distraction — a means of borrowing credibility from other people.
There is profound irony in a country inviting the “Joy Forum” while imprisoning citizens for peaceful activism. Real joy cannot take place under oppression; it has to go hand-in-hand with dignity, justice, and freedom — values that continue to be lacking in Saudi reality.
A Warning to FIFA and the World
The Joy Forum provides a preview of what 2034 will be like: opulent ceremonies, international fanfare, and a choreographed message of advancement. But beneath the façade, it is a deliberate move to sanitize the Kingdom’s image before it takes center stage globally.
If the world publicly celebrates these events unconditionally, it in fact allows for a perilous precedent — that dictatorial governments can buy world respect with entertainment deals and sporting competitions.
The issue, therefore, is not whether Saudi Arabia can host a First-World World Cup; it’s whether the world will turn a blind eye to the ethical price tag of allowing it to.
Call to Action: Stand Up- Boycott Saudi FIFA 2034
The Joy Forum 2025 was not a matter of entertainment, but of image management. Each celebrity endorsement, each positive headline, and each standing ovation brought Saudi Arabia closer to its ultimate objective, employing sport to redefine itself.
But the world has to pierce this illusion. Sports can’t be employed to conceal repression. The 2034 FIFA World Cup is constructed not of grass and glory, but of silenced voices, censored words, and unfree lives. It’s time that fans, players, sponsors, and authorities rise. Refuse complicity in a propaganda enterprise masquerading as football.