A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on April 18, 2018, shows Saudi Information Minister Awwad Alawwad, centre, placing his right palm on a plastic plinth depicting a star at the AMC cinema in the capital Riyadh upon arriving to attend the first test screening in over three decades. (AFP / Saudi Royal Palace / BANDAR AL-JALOUD)
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday unveiled its first cinema in over 35 years with a private screening of the blockbuster "Black Panther", the first in a series of trial runs before movie theatres open to the wider public.
The invitation-only gala event comes after the kingdom lifted the ban on cinemas last year as part of a liberalisation drive, with US giant AMC Entertainment granted the first licence to operate movie theatres.
Anticipation had been building after the authorities announced earlier this month that Saudi Arabia's first cinema in over three decades would open on Wednesday, but officials dubbed the event at Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District a "dry run".