Artwashing Row Are British Cultural Institutions Being Used To Boost Saudi Arabia's Image?

It was an unusual gig for the saxophonist and composer Yolanda Brown, who this week performed for a UK delegation on a private British Airways plane bound for Saudi Arabia.

- Alex Lawson

The flight was part of a trade offensive for British businesses and institutions in Riyadh, with Brown's performance part of a new focus for Saudi-UK relations - international arts.

The two-day Great Futures conference in the Saudi capital drew 450 UK business leaders and politicians to its panels, dinners and meetings. Notable was a significant contingent of cultural bodies, drawing comments that the kingdom was "artwashing" - using Britain's venerable institutions to improve its global image even as concerns over its human rights record continue to mount.

"British businesses have a responsibility to mitigate their risk of contributing to human rights harms, which includes the risk of reputation laundering," said Joey Shea, a researcher focused on Saudi Arabia at Human Rights Watch.

For Britain's business elite, a reminder not to wear "tight-fitting" clothing or garments carrying "profane slogans" may not have been entirely necessary. But the fact that representatives of the UK government-funded Great Trade Campaign sent delegates the "cultural guidance" served as a reminder of the problematic backdrop to the Charm Offensive.

The Great campaign was set up in 2011 to encourage trade and tourism and, in 2021, received £60m in funding designed to complement the post-Brexit push for new trade deals. The result has been £4.5bn in exports and investment, its supporters claim.

Britain's trading relationship with Saudi is well established -from the Lightning and Strikemaster aircraft in the 1960s, to the 1985 al-Yamamah guns-foroil deal, which was embroiled in corruption allegations. It is now broadening into every industry from tech to high-profile sporting events. Saudi exports were worth £13.1bn to Britain in 2023.