Awards season made its way over to the Gulf on Saturday with the Joy Awards 2024 in Riyadh.
The annual event, now in its fourth year, once again rolled out the red carpet in Riyadh – lavender carpet, more accurately – to welcome stars from across Arabic music, film and television, not to mention some notable international talent.
Broadcast live on MBC and its streaming platform Shahid and organised by the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority, the event upped the glitz and glam from past years past, bringing in top names from Hollywood including John Cena, Anthony Hopkins and director Zack Snyder, as well as Bollywood stars including Alia Bhatt.
But on the lavender carpet, it was some of the region’s biggest stars that captured the most attention, with a host of unique looks as well as some continuation from trends we’ve seen pop up on the Golden Globes and Emmy Awards respective red carpets.
Here are a few of our favourites.
Raya Abirached
Lebanese MBC presenter and Joy Awards host Raya Abirached has steadily become a red carpet star in her own right over the years, after decades of conducting interviews from behind the velvet rope.
After wearing a dress by Tony Ward Couture and shoes by Christian Louboutin at the Golden Globes, styled by Cedric Haddad, her Joy Awards look matched the colour of the night.
Abirached wore a lavender sequinned Valentino gown, paired with Bvlgari jewellery before she took the stage.
Pamela El Kik
Lebanese actress Pamela El Kik, who currently appears in the Shahid hit and Joy Best Series winner Crystal, celebrated the country of Saudi Arabia with her Maison Geyanna Youness gown matching the colour of the country's flag. Her jewellery was by Mouwad.
"Thank you from the heart of Saudi Arabia and the people of its kind, hospitable and generous people. Overwhelmed with a feeling that I can't help of joy, appreciation, respect and love, love love!" she wrote on her instagram.
Carmen Bsaibes
Much as we've seen internationally at the Globes and the Emmys, the colour red was the most popular choice for the region's stars, with Lebanese actress Carmen Bsaibes, 30, who co-starred in the popular series Bride of Beirut with Tunisian actor Dhafer L'Abidine, wore a tasteful red dress by Lebanese designer Elie Saab, with jewellery by Marli.
Rym Saidi
Tunisian model an actress Rym Saidi, who started her career in 2003 after winning the Elite Model Look Tunisia and currently in Dubai Media Incorporated's series Fashion Star, was styled by Cedric Haddad in a lavender dress by Tony Ward, accessorised with pieces from Sartoro Jewelry.
The star also sported a new haircut by Lebanese hairstylist Georges El Mendelek.
Nancy Ajram
Lebanese pop singer Nancy Ajram, 41, also donned a red gown at the event, opting for an outfit by Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana.
She is a frequent visitor to Riyadh, having recently performed as part of the Saudi capital's new years celebrations, not to mention her performance at last November's Masterpieces by Baligh Hamdi concert, where she sang Black Eyes in a fitting black gown.
Annabella Hilal
Lebanese TV presenter and Miss World Lebanon 2006 representative Annabella Hilal opted for a mix of colour at the ceremony, wearing a dress by Zuhair Murad and jewelry by Mouawad, highlighted by a striking necklace that matched the deep greens on her gown.
Dima Kandalaft
Syrian actress and singer Dima Kanalaft celebrated her "joyful night", as she described it on Instagram, in a Georges Hobeika gown, with jewellery by Tiffany and Co and shoes and bag from Louboutin, styled by Jony Matta Ghorayeb.
Mona Zaki
Egyptian actress Mona Zaki wore another red gown from Elie Saab, also styled by Cedric Haddad, complemented by Roberto Coin jewellery.
Zaki, who starred in the 2022 Netflix Arabic-language hit Perfect Strangers, has been favouring red looks as of late, wearing a Valentino gown on the MBC1 programme Kalam Nawaem in September.
