MINA: Pilgrims in Makkah and at the holy sites made a record-breaking 44.8 million telephone calls on Sunday during Eid Al-Adha, Saudi Arabia’s Communications, Space and Technology Commission said on Monday.

Of those, 38.04 million were local and 6.76 million were international calls, with a success rate of more than 99 percent.

In terms of data usage, pilgrims consumed 5,790 terabytes during the holiday, the commission added, which is equivalent to streaming more than 2.37 million hours of high-definition, 1080p video.

Average daily data consumption reached 779.93 megabytes per subscriber, which was more than double the global average of 380MB.

The mobile internet infrastructure was able to provide an average data-download speed of 376.18 megabits per second and an average upload speed of 48.04Mbps, according to the commission.

RIYADH: The Diriyah Gate Development Authority celebrated Eid Al-Adha by organizing a range of artistic and cultural shows.

Citizens and visitors participated in the events, enjoying the carnival atmosphere in several locations, including Diriyah’s parks, squares and neighborhoods, as well as the historic Al-Turaif neighborhood and the Bujairi Terrace.

The four-day events, which kicked off on the first day of Eid, included artistic and cultural programs and live shows in Al-Turaif, in addition to popular arts shows such as Ardah and Samri. About 25,000 gifts were distributed to citizens and visitors enjoying the activities, interactive shows and live music.

Also on the first day of Eid, the authority launched a service to manage the sacrificed animals, in accordance with approved standards and requirements. It supervised the organization and preparation process during the pilgrimage and arranged parking areas and waiting tents, in addition to distributing sacrificial bags to those wishing to perform the ritual.

This year’s events included Arabian horse shows, traditional henna decorations and the distribution of gift. Boxes of sweets were also handed out.

Crowds of people enjoyed Eid Al-Adha events at Bujairi Terrace. These included live musical shows using oud, rababa and qanun instruments, and pavilions where artists drew caricatured portraits of guests and children could have their faces painted.