How it began
Riyadh Season is an initiative of the General Entertainment Authority, held each year in the capital. The first edition opened on 11 October 2019 under the slogan Imagine and drew eleven million visitors; after a pause in 2020, the second opened on 20 October 2021 and passed fifteen million.
The 2023 edition, opened on 28 October under the slogan Big Time, drew about twenty million visitors. The fifth edition opened on 12 October 2024.
Zones and stages
The season is spread across zones that change from year to year. In 2024 there were fourteen over about 7.2 million m², among them Kingdom Arena, Boulevard World, Boulevard City and Souq al-Awaleen.
Its calendar runs from concerts to sport: in 2022 Riyadh Zoo held 1,300 animals from 190 species, and Kingdom Arena hosted the African Super Cup in 2024. The 2021 edition alone counted 7,500 event days.