Riyadh's Al Faisaliah Hotel, A Rosewood Hotel, has underlined its reputation as Saudi Arabia's leading special events and conference venue by staging the 31^st King Faisal International Prize awards ceremony.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz attended the ceremony and personally presented the prizes.  King Abdullah's presence brought even greater significance to the awards, and marked the winners with great distinction. Prince Khalid Al Faisal, Governor of Makkah, Director General of the King Faisal Foundation, and Chairman of the KFIP board, welcomed the King and guests, and congratulated the winners personally.

Over 1,000 guests, including a large number of Royal Princes, VIPs, dignitaries and scholars attended the event at the impressive Prince Sultan Grand Hall at Al Faisaliah Hotel, A Rosewood Hotel to witness King Abdullah honour the recipients with awards for their outstanding services and achievements in a variety of fields.

The Prince Sultan Grand Hall, the largest column free banquet space in the Kingdom, was a fitting venue for the presentation of King Faisal International Prize.  The awards are hosted by the King Faisal Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the world, established in 1976 by the sons of the late King Faisal Ibn Abdul Aziz.  

"It is a tremendous honour to have the 31^st King Faisal International Prize awards presented here," said Wolfgang Pachler, Managing Director for Al Faisaliah Hotel, A Rosewood Hotel.

"We are pleased and proud to host one of the most important awards in the world, which recognises exceptional individuals and groups serving Islam and humanity in truly remarkable ways."

The King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam was awarded to the Egyptian Principal Shari'ah Society for Qur'an and Sunnah Scholars.  The society was honoured for its total dedication to the cause of Islam, removed from any political ambitions, with a reliance on the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah in extending real Islamic teachings.  The group is known for furthering Islamic education and carrying out a range of social services for under-privileged Muslims in Egypt and abroad.     

The King Faisal International Prize for Arabic Language and Literature was awarded to the Kingdom's Professor Abd Al-Aziz Nasir Al-Manie, Professor Emeritus of Arabic Literature at King Saud, distinguished by his efforts in editing, verifying, and elucidating several illustrious Arabic literary works from the 3 - 7 centuries Hijra.

The King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies was awarded to Morocco's Professor Abdessalam M. Cheddadi, Professor at the University Research Institute of Mohammad V University in Rabat, recognized for his seminal studies on the works of Ibn Khaldun, a leading authority in Islamic thought and perceptions of Imran.

The King Faisal International Prize for Medicine (Molecular Targeted Therapy) was awarded to Professor Ronald Levy, Chief of the Division of Oncology at Stanford University's Department of Medicine, a brilliant pioneer whose work has enormously advanced the field of cancer immunotherapy over the last three decades.

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The King Faisal International Prize for Science (Physics) was awarded jointly to the UK's Professor Sir Richard Henry Friend, Chairman of the Council of the School of Physical Sciences and Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and to Russia's Professor Rashid Alievich Sunyaev, Chief Scientist of the Space Research Institute at the Russian Academy of Science.

The hotel's Prince Sultan's Grand Hall is the Kingdom's largest column-free public space, with a capacity for 4,000 delegates in conference style seating and banquets for 2,800 diners.  The magnificent adjacent Al Omsiat ballroom, with its marble finishes, custom-woven carpets and spectacular chandeliers, is the grandest in Saudi Arabia.