Next edition of Riyadh Season could attract up to 12m visitors, says Saudi entertainment chief

Turki Al-Sheikh speaking to reporters on Thursday. (Alsharq)
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Updated 05 October 2023
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Next edition of Riyadh Season could attract up to 12m visitors, says Saudi entertainment chief

RIYADH: The fourth edition of Saudi Arabia’s wildly popular Riyadh Season could see as many as 12 million visitors, the head of Kingdom’s entertainment authority said on Thursday.

“We expect 10 million to 12 million visitors this year, and we target more than a million tourists from outside the Kingdom,” Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority, told a press briefing in Riyadh.
 “The Riyadh Season, in its fourth edition, has achieved 40% of its targeted revenue through sponsorship and some large deals even before it’s started,” he said.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The entertainment festival launched for the first time in 2019 and attracted over 7 million visitors.

• Last year, over 15 million people attended the festival, including over 1 million tourists from 125 countries.

• The festival generated over 150,000 direct and indirect jobs with the participation of 1,255 companies.

 
This year’s Riyadh Season, which is set to launch on Oct. 28, will be historic, Sheikh promised.
‘An unprecedented, historical opening ceremony that the world has never seen before,’ he said.
The entertainment festival launched for the first time in 2019 and attracted over 7 million visitors.
Last year, over 15 million people attended the festival, including over 1 million tourists from 125 countries.
The festival generated over 150,000 direct and indirect jobs with the participation of 1,255 companies.
The 2022 Riyadh Season included over 7,500 events, 10 international exhibitions, more than 350 theatrical performances, in addition to an international car exhibition and auction, more than 70 cafes, 200 restaurants, a video games tournament, and more than 100 interactive shows.


Saudi Arabia welcomes ceasefire agreement between Syrian Democratic Forces and Syria state

Updated 19 January 2026
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Saudi Arabia welcomes ceasefire agreement between Syrian Democratic Forces and Syria state

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has welcomed an agreement between the Syrian state and Syrian Democratic Forces.
In a foreign ministry statement early on Monday, the Kingdom said it had welcomed an deal between Damascus and Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces that was announced by the Syrian government on Sunday.
The agreement entails merging all SDF forces into the defense and interior ministries and means that Kurdish forces will redeploy to east of the Euphrates river.
The 14-point deal would also see the immediate administrative and military handover of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa governorates.
The Syrian state would regain control of all border crossings, oil fields, and gas fields in the region, with protection secured by regular forces to ensure the return of resources to the Syrian government, while considering the special case of Kurdish areas, the state news agency SANA reported.
The ceasefire comes after intense fighting between the SDF and government troops in Aleppo. But SDF troops have now pulled back from there and the Syrian army now controls most areas east of Aleppo.
The Saudi foreign ministry statement also thanked the US for the agreement. Washington is believed to have supported brokering the ceasefire between allies SDF and the Syrian government, who they have also backed diplomatically since the fall of long-time dictator Bashar Assad.
The Syrian state announced on Friday a raft of new directives to recognize Syrian Kurds, including making their language official and bolstering other rights for the minority group.