Saudi Arabia will host the Arab Radio and Television Festival for the first time from 7 to 10 November, with wide international participation.

The festival, the 22nd, will take place in Riyadh. Organised by the Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA), it is expected to attract more than 1,000 media professionals from around the world, the Saudi Press Agency reports.

It will look at the issues and challenges facing the Arab media today and will include production, news and engineering workshops, an exhibition and two competitions for TV programmes and news.

Media organisations taking part include the Arab States Broadcasting Union, the ABU, the World Broadcasting Unions, the African Union of Broadcasting and the European Broadcasting Union.

Lebanon’s National News Agency, NNA, says Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the festival enhances its regional and international standing and confirms the depth of its strategic position in the Arab and Islamic worlds.