MIRAGE OVER

Vice Media Was Behind $20M Saudi Music Festival, Report Says

The media company reportedly kept its name off promotional materials for the event, which came after Vice’s pledge to cut Saudi ties.

A lavish Saudi Arabian music festival that was widely seen as a bid by the repressive kingdom to rebrand itself with help from Western celebrities and social media influencers was secretly organized by Vice Media, according to The Guardian. The Azimuth music festival, held in March 2020 at the world heritage site of Al-Ula, was held about three years after Vice vowed to halt work in Saudi Arabia over the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Nonetheless, Vice staffers quoted by The Guardian estimated the media company splashed out about $20 million on the Saudi festival, while also making sure to leave its name off marketing materials. Contractors brought on board by Vice’s creative marketing agency, Virtue, were reportedly asked to sign nondisclosure agreements. “It is astounding that–despite ongoing opposition from staff–Vice is still happy to take money from a country that was literally responsible for the state-sanctioned murder of a journalist,” one unnamed employee was quoted saying. A spokesperson for Vice said the company “has always been about creativity and culture for youth in every corner of the world,” adding that its “editorial voice has and always will report with complete autonomy and independence.”