Bruno Mars, DJ Khaled, and Post Malone have been booked to play a music festival in Saudi Arabia called Soundstorm. Taking place over the first week in December in Banban, Riyadh, Soundstorm 2022 also has Marshmello, David Guetta, and DJ Snake scheduled to perform. The artists could face real pushback around the choice to play in Saudi Arabia, which, despite opening its borders to Western entertainment in recent years, has a major history of human rights abuses, including discrimination against women and LGBTQ+ people, and of silencing its critics.

In 2019, Nicki Minaj pulled out of playing Jeddah World Fest after the Human Rights Foundation publicly requested she withdraw. At the time, Minaj said she wanted to show support for women’s rights, gay rights, and freedom of expression. Likewise, in 2021, Justin Bieber was urged to cancel a performance in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia following the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The concert went ahead even as human rights campaigners and activists called on Bieber to withdraw in protest of the region’s arrests and intimidation of critics.

Within the last few years, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has tried to modernize society and attract foreign investment, hosting giant entertainment and sporting events such as Formula One races, golf tournaments, and WWE pay-per-view events. That said, the government has faced harsh criticism around continued human-rights violations and for its role in the murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.