The curtain has risen on Riyadh Season 2025, Saudi’s largest cultural and entertainment festival with a programme of record-scale events, international collaborations, and immersive experiences that will run through early 2026. Now in its sixth edition, the festival has become a landmark on the global entertainment calendar, attracting millions of visitors each year and combining headline international talent, world-class sporting events, and culturally rooted programming.
The opening at Boulevard Riyadh City offered a glimpse of the scale the festival is aiming for. A parade featuring themed floats, giant balloons, and more than 3,000 performers provided an early indication of the event’s ambition, but it is the broader programme that demonstrates the Riyadh Season’s significance.
This year’s edition spans six major entertainment zones designed to combine cultural exhibitions, interactive installations, sporting competitions, concerts, and culinary experiences. Boulevard World will allow visitors to explore Saudi heritage alongside exhibits from Turkey, Iran, and Africa. The House of Hype will showcase global fashion and lifestyle trends, while the MrBeast Zone, marking the digital creator’s first engagement in Saudi, will offer interactive challenges and fan experiences. Kingdom Arena, Via Riyadh, Al Suwaidi Park, and The Groves will host concerts, sporting events, family-friendly activities, and curated cultural showcases, creating a multi-layered experience for local and international audiences alike.
Riyadh Season 2025 is also defined by several international firsts. The inaugural Riyadh Comedy Festival, billed as one of the world’s largest stand-up gatherings, will bring together over 50 comedians, including Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Aziz Ansari, and Russell Peters. The Six Kings Slam tennis tournament returns, drawing six top-ranked ATP players, including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner, to a knockout-format exhibition. The WTA Finals Riyadh and MDLBEAST Soundstorm 25 will reprise their roles on the festival calendar, while the WWE Royal Rumble will make its debut in Saudi, a milestone that underscores Riyadh’s growing stature as a host of internationally recognised sporting events.
Digital engagement is set to be a central feature of the festival. Collaborations with MrBeast, KSI, and iShowSpeed will provide gamified, interactive experiences alongside live events, recognising the contemporary audience’s appetite for hybrid online and offline participation. At the same time, the festival will maintain a strong focus on regional culture, with new Saudi, Khaleeji, and Syrian theatrical productions, concerts, and storytelling workshops supported under the General Entertainment Authority’s cultural programme. This dual emphasis on global appeal and local authenticity has become a defining characteristic of Riyadh Season.
Since its launch in 2019, Riyadh Season has grown into a cultural phenomenon of international significance. The 2024 edition attracted over 20 million visitors, featuring 14 themed zones and 11 international sports championships. The 2025 season is expected to exceed these numbers, aided by infrastructure improvements including a cable car network connecting Boulevard World, The Groves, and Kingdom Arena, as well as expanded metro and bus services.
The full itinerary for Riyadh Season 2025 was unveiled last month under the Saudi Tourism Authority’s “Unreal Calendar,” fronted by footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. The campaign offers a taste of an extended season of sport, entertainment, and cultural events, including film, fashion, music, and theatre, across television, social media, digital, and OTA platforms, signalling the scale and ambition of the city’s calendar for 2025–26.
As part of Vision 2030, the country is investing heavily in the tourism and events sector, with $800 billion earmarked for development. The market is projected to reach $22.4 billion and contribute $16.5 billion to GDP by 2030. Large-scale events are expected to boost visitor numbers, stimulate infrastructure growth, create employment opportunities, and foster youth participation across sport and culture.
