Entertainment festival held annually in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Riyadh Season (Arabic:موسم الرياض,romanized: mawsim ar-Riyāḍ) is a series of entertainment, cultural, and sporting events held in theSaudi Arabian capital ofRiyadh. The event was introduced in 2019 by theGeneral Entertainment Authority as part of the larger Saudi Seasons initiative in support ofSaudi Vision 2030.
Riyadh Season is typically scheduled from October through March, falling between the early-winter and early-spring.
Riyadh Season involves seasonal events and experiences dispersed "zones" such as theBoulevard City,Boulevard World,Roshn Front,Al Malazz, andNational Museum Park districts.
Major events such as concerts, music festivals, and sporting events (particularlyfootball,boxing andmixed martial arts events) are promoted under the banner held at venues such asMohammed Abdo Arena andKingdom Arena.
Severaltourist attractions of the city are selected and are designated as entertainment zones.
Riyadh Season was introduced in 2019 as part of an initiative by theGeneral Entertainment Authority known as Saudi Seasons, a portfolio of 11 regional cultural festivals that aim to promotetourism in Saudi Arabia in support ofSaudi Vision 2030.[1][2]
The inaugural edition of Riyadh Season resulted in a sizable increase in tourism during the period; the General Entertainment Authority estimated that the events collectively generated six billionriyals in revenue,[3] there were at least 11 million visitors to the city during the 66-day period, a 106% increase in flight bookings to the city (71% of which coming from other parts of the country), and a 240% increase in bookings to one, two, and three-star hotels.[4]
Riyadh Season was not held in 2020–21 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
It returned for 2021–22, extended through March 2022.[5]
With COVID-19 restrictions eased, its opening ceremony (which featured a performance by American rapperPitbull) was attended by 750,000 people in the boulevard district.[6]
The 2022 opening ceremony set a record for the largest number of drones simultaneously launching fireworks.[7][8] At least five million visitors attended events in the first two months of the period.[9]
In October 2024, sports streaming serviceDAZN reached an agreement with the General Entertainment Authority making it the exclusive broadcaster of all Riyadh Season-sponsored events, including international distribution rights to all of itsboxing cards outside of theMiddle East and North Africa (MENA) region.[10]
Riyadh Season 2019–2020
[edit]The first edition of the festival was launched on October 11, 2019 and was set to end on December 11, but it was extended to January 2020 after the number of visitors exceeded 10 million.[11]
On October 17, 2019, the opening parade of the first edition of Riyadh Season was held in Riyadh Boulevard zone with an attendance of more than 600,000 visitors.[12]
It included 100 events that took place at 12 different zones, and was hosted under seven themes and experiences: Joy, inspire, taste, explore, fantasy, speed and desert.[13]
The Taste theme originated in accordance with opening 31 restaurant from different cuisines all across the following zones:[13]
- Riyadh Boulevard
- Riyadh Front
- Riyadh Car Exhibition
- Riyadh Winter Wonderland
- Riyadh Sports Arenas
- Diplomatic Quarters
- Al-Murabaa
- Al-Malazz
- Wadi Namar
- Riyadh Beat
- Riyadh Safari
- Riyadh Sahara
Riyadh Season 2021–2022
[edit]The second edition of Riyadh Season was launched on October 20, 2021 and lasted until the end of March 2022.
It lies in an area measuring 5.4 million square meters in which it hosts more than 7,000 events at 14 different zones.[5]
- Riyadh Boulevard
- VIA Riyadh
- Combat Field
- Riyadh Winter Wonderland
- Riyadh Front
- Al-Murabaa
- Riyadh Safari
- Al-Athriyah
- Riyadh Oasis
- The Groves
- Nabd al-Riyadh
- Zaman Village
- al-Salam Tree
- Khalooha
Riyadh Season 2022–2023
[edit]The third edition of Riyadh Season was launched on October 21, 2022 and lasted until March 2023.
This included 8,500 activity days. This season had a principal of 15 zones in theRiyadh Boulevard and represented many cultures such as:
- America
- France
- Greece
- Italy
- India
- China
- Spain
- Morocco
- Mexico
- Qassim
The 2022 Riyadh Season also included 2023 Riyadh Season Cup, a friendly football match betweenParis Saint-Germain (PSG) andRiyadh XI (combinedAl Hilal andAl Nassr all-star team) held atKing Fahd International Stadium on 19 January 2023.
The game received global attention as the game pittedLionel Messi andCristiano Ronaldo, two of the greatest football players in the world and the subject ofintense debate, directly against each other for the first time since 2020, as Messi played for PSG and Ronaldo joined Al Nassr days prior to the friendly match.
PSG won the match 5–4.
Riyadh Season 2023–2024
[edit]The fourth edition of Riyadh Season launched on October 28, 2023 with new identity and tagline ("Big Time") and title sponsorship fromSNB.
The opener event,Battle of Baddest, featuringTyson Fury andFrancis Ngannou, was held at Boulevard Hall on the same day.
This year's Riyadh Season was marked with the addition ofBoulevard Hall (named Kingdom Arena for sponsorship reasons), an indoor arena with aFIFA andAFC-approved football pitch capable of hosting various types of events with more than 40,000 spectators in attendance (27,000 for football matches). It was fully opened in January 2024 and serves as the new home ground ofAl Hilal
The following events took place as part of 2023 Riyadh Season:
- On 28 October 2023, theTyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou heavyweight boxing fight was held in Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall) to kick off the Riyadh Season. It was marketed as Battle of the Baddest.
- On 4 November 2023,WWE Crown Jewel 2023 was held inMohammed Abdu Arena.
- On 17 November 2023,If Y'all Weren't Here, I'd Be Crying Tour by American rapperPost Malone was held in Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall).
- Soundstorm Festival by MDLBEAST was held between 14–16 December 2023.
- On 23 December 2023, a boxing event billed as the Day of Reckoning, headlined byAnthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin and co-main eventDeontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker, was held at the Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall).
- On 26–27 December 2023, the Riyadh Season Tennis Cup, featuringNovak Djokovic,Carlos Alcaraz,Ons Jabeur andAryna Sabalenka, was held at the Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall).
- On 10–14 January 2024, the2023–24 Supercopa de España featuringReal Madrid,Barcelona,Atlético Madrid andOsasuna, was held at theAl-Awwal Park (King Saud University Stadium).
- On 21–25 January 2024, the2023 Supercoppa Italiana featuringNapoli,Inter Milan,Lazio andFiorentina, was held at the Al-Awwal Park (King Saud University Stadium).
- The 2024 Riyadh Season Cup football tournament featuringAl Hilal,Al Nassr andInter Miami, in a single-round robin group, where the table toppers were crowned champions. The matches between Al Hilal and Inter Miami, Al Nassr vs Inter Miami and Al Hilal vs Al Nassr was held on 29 January, 1 February and 8 February 2024 respectively at the Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall).[14][15] All three of these clubs signed well-known world-class players in 2023, withParis Saint-Germain playersLionel Messi andNeymar transferring to Inter Miami and Al Hilal, respectively, whileCristiano Ronaldo transferred fromManchester United to Al Nassr. Due to Messi and Ronaldo both being 36 and 38 years old respectively, it is likely the last timethe two will play against each other in a match, leading many to dub it "The Last Dance".[16]
- On 24 February 2024, the mixed martial arts eventPFL vs. Bellator: Champs was held outside the Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall).
- On 4–6 March 2024, the first professionalSnooker tournament was held in Boulevard City.Ronnie O'Sullivan won theWorld Masters of Snooker title.
- On 8 March 2024, theAnthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match was held at the Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall). It was marketed as Knockout Chaos.
- On 18 May 2024, theTyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk boxing match was held at the Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall). It was originally scheduled to be held in February 2024,[17] but was postponed after Fury was injured in training.[18] It was marketed as Ring of Fire.
There are 12 Zones in Riyadh Season 2023:[19]
Riyadh Season 2024–2025
[edit]The fifth edition of Riyadh Season launched on October 12.
The following events took place as part of 2024 Riyadh Season:
- On September 27, 2024 (15 days before the official start of the season), the2024 CAF Super Cup betweenAl Ahly (champions of the2023-24 CAF Champions League) andZamalek (winners of the2023-24 CAF Confederations Cup), was held at the Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall).
- Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol was held at the Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall) on October 12, 2024. It was marketed as IV Crown Showdown.
- 2024 Six Kings Slam was held at the anb Arena from October 16–19, 2024. A tennis tournament featuringNovak Djokovic,Carlos Alcaraz,Rafael Nadal,Daniil Medvedev,Jannik Sinner andHolger Rune.
- PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants headlined byFrancis Ngannou vsRenan Ferreira was held at the Mayadeen on October 19, 2024. It was marketed as Brace for Impact.
- WWE Crown Jewel was held at theMohammed Abdo Arena on November 2, 2024.
- Gilberto Ramirez vsChris Billam-Smith was held at the anb Arena on November 16, 2024. It was marketed as Latino Night.
- PFL 10: Loughnane vs Khizriev the finale of the playoffs for all 2024 divisions was held at Al-Awwal Park (King Saudi University Stadium) on November 29, 2024.
- Riyadh Season Snooker Championship was held at the Global Theatre from 18 to 20 December 2024.
- Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury II was held at the Kingdom Arena (Boulevard Hall) on December 21, 2024. It was marketed as Reignited.
- The2024 Supercoppa Italiana featuringInter Milan,AC Milan,Juventus andAtalanta was held at Al-Awwal Park (King Saud University Stadium) from January 2–6, 2025.
- UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Imavov was held at the anb Arena on February 1, 2025.Power Slap 11 was held at the same arena on January 30, 2025.
- Artur Beterbiev vsDmitry Bivol II was held at the anb Arena on February 22, 2025. It was marketed as The Last Crescendo.
- Canelo Álvarez vsWilliam Scull was held at the anb Arena on May 4, 2025. It was marketed with theFatal Fury: City of the Wolves video game.
- TheWBC Boxing Grand Prix tournament organised by theWorld Boxing Council in collaboration with Riyadh Season, which features elimination rounds across multiple weight-classes throughout the season in five phases from April 17 to December 20, 2025.[20]
Riyadh Season 2025–2026
[edit]The sixth edition of Riyadh Season launched in October.
The following events are taking place as part of 2025 Riyadh Season:
- 2025 Six Kings Slam is being held at the anb Arena from October 15–18, 2025.
- David Benavidez vsAnthony Yarde will be held at the anb Arena on November 22, 2025. It will be marketed as Night of the Champions.
- The2025–26 Supercoppa Italiana featuringNapoli,Bologna,Inter Milan andAC Milan will be held at Al-Awwal Park (King Saud University Stadium) from December 18–22, 2025.
- Naoya Inoue vsAlan Picasso Romero will be held at theMohammed Abdo Arena on December 27, 2025. It will be marketed as Night of the Samurai.
- WWE Royal Rumble will be held in Riyadh on January 31, 2026.
- Fanatics Flag Football Classic will be held in Riyadh on March 21, 2026 and will feature current and formerNational Football League (NFL) players likeTom Brady,Saquon Barkley,CeeDee Lamb,Christian McCaffrey,Sauce Gardner,Myles Garrett,Brock Bowers,Maxx Crosby,Tyreek Hill,Odell Beckham Jr., andRob Gronkowski as well as NFL coachesPete Carroll,Sean Payton, andKyle Shanahan.
Riyadh Season 2026–2027
[edit]The seventh edition of Riyadh Season will launch in October.
The following events will take place as part of 2026 Riyadh Season:
Saudi Arabia