Riyadh entertainment spectacular set to be Kingdom’s biggest festival season yet
From world-class football to K-pop, the capital city comes alive with over 100 events and activities
World-class football, K-pop and Saudi Arabia’s largestever parade will be among more than 100 events and activities taking place over the next two months during Riyadh Season.
The capital’s festival of fun and entertainment will kick off on Oct. 17 with 1,500 costumed participants taking part in a huge procession. Spectacular firework displays and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally along Prince Turki Al-Awal Road are also planned. General Entertainment Authority Chairman Turki Al-Sheikh on Monday revealed more details about the 12 festival zones and events being staged throughout the city. South Korean boy band BTS will take to the stage at King Fahd International Stadium on Oct. 11 to perform in the Kingdom for the first time, and the Riyadh stadium will host WWE Crown Jewel on Oct. 31. In November, Argentina will be aiming to avenge their defeat by Brazil in Jeddah last October, as the Superclasico de las Americas football match returns to Saudi Arabia. Riyadh Boulevard will screen the latest movie releases at an open-air cinema for one month starting on Oct. 17, and it will also stage a series of concerts by top international and Arab singers. Although the international stars have yet to be announced, the lineup of Arab musicians can be viewed on the festival website.
Visitors can also expect great food served up by a selection of big-name restaurants and will be able to watch hourly displays of the world’s most extravagant dancing fountains that shoot not only water but smoke, fire and lasers. Meanwhile, the Riyadh Front venue will feature the season’s largest exhibition area, which will play host to a wide range of events including Space Discovery, ComicCon, a Cirque du Soleil show, and a performance of Michael Jackson concert “Thriller Live.” With more than 20 world-famous restaurants cooking up a storm, including Ferdi, Anis, Kusunoki, Twiga, Tetou, Kaspia and Dirty French, Al-Muraba’a Zone will be the place to be for foodies in a magical garden-lights setting. From London to Riyadh, Winter Wonderland in the Saudi capital, which runs from Oct. 20 to Jan. 15 next year, promises to be the biggest yet spread out over 200 square meters. It will include a Real Madrid exhibition, Marvel experience, a Broadway show, illusionists, a skating rink, a Lego wonders of the world display, Luna Cinema, escape hotel, haunted carnival, dynamo show, and xtremers gaming arena.
The ambitious 2019 Saudi Seasons initiative, the first of its kind in the region, was launched in February and includes 11 local seasons covering most parts of the Kingdom. Designed to promote the fledgling entertainment sector and boost tourism, the initiative is attracting some of the biggest names in world entertainment to the Kingdom.