Especially during the autumn and winter months, Riyadh offers a colorful bouquet of entertainments and cultural events that are now known far beyond the country’s borders and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors. To list them all is hardly possible within the scope of this blog. A few of them shall be briefly outlined:
Riyadh Season
In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has experienced remarkable growth precisely in the areas of tourism and entertainment. To promote this sector of the economy, the Saudi government has launched, among other things, a gigantic entertainment world. The largest of these is the so-called Riyadh Season and, derived from it, the Ad-Diriyah Season. The Riyadh Season was launched in 2019 and it has since been one of the largest Saudi Seasons. The Riyadh Season usually starts in October, followed by the Diriyah Season in November. Both usually end in December or January.
Riyadh activities held during the Riyadh Season in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia include more than 100 activities per day, including performances, games, artistic and lyrical activities, exhibitions, movies, concerts, etc., etc.
The season is divided into zones (14 so far), each with its own theme and activities, as well as exciting live performances by international and local artists. With an area of about 14 million square meters, these are the zones (selection):
Riyadh City Boulevard
The largest area of the riyadh season, with 200 of the city’s largest restaurants and cafes. There are also many Arab and international theatres. In addition, there is a promenade and electronic games. Riyadh Boulevard City hosts a variety of events including a snow city and winter games for people of all ages.
Whether shopping lovers, sports enthusiasts, adventure seekers, music fans and more, there is something for everyone!
Riyadh Front
Riyadh Front is located in the north of Riyadh and hosts many of the activities and moreover of exhibitions that are among the largest in Middle East. Riyadh Front is the best place for anime fans.
Murraba
Al Murabba is one of the most famous areas in Riyadh that hosts many events and offers historical and modern tourist attractions. The entire appearance of Murabba neighbourhood reflects the heritage and history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A wide variety of events held as part of the Riyadh Season immerse this neighbourhood in a whole new, active environment.
Nabd Al-Riyadh
Nabd al-Riyadh is one of the areas of Riyadh Season, located in the heart of Riyadh near the traditional Masmak Palace. Nabd al-Riyadh is one of the areas where events are held in Riyadh, such as artistic, musical and theatrical performances.
Winter Wonderland
Riyadh Winter Wonderland is an integrated entertainment center at the height of King Abdullah Finance District (KAFD) that offers a variety of leisure activities. It also offers a variety of games for adults and children. There are also some recreational areas such as the Snow Forest, Dreamland Carnival and Horror Adventure Zones.
Further information:
https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/see-do/destinations/riyadh/riyadh-season
Noor Festival
The Noor Riyadh Light Festival transforms Riyadh into an even more glittering art gallery, offering an unparalleled sensory experience.
Launched in 2021, Noor Riyadh brings together local and international artists to enchant the city with monumental public artworks accompanied by diverse public programming.
Noor Riyadh is part of the larger Riyadh Art Initiative, which aims to transform the Saudi capital into a vibrant, cosmopolitan global city.
The festival began in 2022 in the first week of October two weeks lighting up the entire city. On display will be site-specific installations, monumental public artworks, ephemeral sculptures, art trails, musical performances and virtual reality.
Further information:
https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/events/noor-riyadh
Street Art
The street art scene, particularly graffiti work, does not exist in the Western world’s understanding (until now); street art has been a suppressed or heavily channeled medium, and can be found as construction fence decorations like a kind of wallpaper.
However, there is now an annual street art festival SHIFT22, held at the abandoned Irqah (Arqa) Hospital in the western part of the city, usually in October It features a range of artworks, graffiti and sculptures from around the world. The festival is hosted by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture.
Address: 2842 Manee Almoridy St, Irqah; open 6pm-11pm. No entrance fees
More Information about this and other Art Parks, Art Scenes in Riyadh you can find in my ebook “Dr. Hans-F. Loth – Travel Guide Riyadh and Jeddah”.
