Riyadh Season 2026 Opens Today: What Is Actually Open and When Each Zone Follows

Riyadh Season 2026 opens today, Wednesday 21 October, as the festival returns to the capital for its seventh edition. This year’s theme is Big Time, and the season is organised by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), chaired by Turki Alalshikh. It runs for around ten weeks, with more than 7,000 events spread across 12 zones, and tickets for the paid zones and headline nights are sold through Webook.

The scale is the talking point again. Twelve zones and more than 7,000 events make this the largest Riyadh Season programme yet, and Big Time is the GEA leaning into that growth: bigger headline sport, longer runs for the proven zones and new attractions joining the established names. The staggered start belongs to the same thinking. Rather than switching everything on in one night, the season spreads its openings across several weeks, and that changes how opening week actually works for visitors.

So opening day comes with a catch. Not everything opens at once, and anyone turning up tonight expecting the full festival will find a season that is still switching itself on. Our full Riyadh Season guide tracks every zone and date as the calendar fills in. Here is what is actually open, what follows, and when.

What is open from today

Boulevard City is first out of the gate. The zone’s main stage opens tomorrow, Thursday 22 October, and its attractions and dining venues follow on Saturday 24 October. Entry is free on a walk-in basis, and the zone stays open from 4pm to 2am, which makes it the natural starting point for opening week. Expect the stage programme to carry the first couple of nights while the rest of the zone finishes coming online around it.

Boulevard World follows on Sunday 25 October, four days after the season itself begins. The zone wraps a million square metres of country pavilions around its lake in Hittin, next door to Boulevard City, with the Netherlands, Portugal and Yemen among this year’s new pavilions. Entry starts from 29 SAR, gates run from 4pm to midnight, and children under five go in free.

The staggered rollout, date by date

The confirmed opening schedule so far is set out below. Further zones and headline events are expected to be announced as the season builds.

AlDirah Winter takes the season into November from Sunday 1 November. Wonder Garden returns on Wednesday 18 November, and the rollout completes on Friday 18 December with the Farmers Market and Al Suwaidi. In other words, the festival that opens today is still adding major pieces almost two months from now. That spreads the crowds, but it also rewards anyone who plans around the dates rather than the opening headlines.

First headline event: Canelo against Mbilli

The first blockbuster night arrives ten days in. Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli tops the bill on Saturday 31 October, with the WBC super-middleweight title on the line at The Venue in Boulevard City. It is the sort of fight this season has built its reputation on, and it lands early enough to set the tone for the ten weeks that follow. Tickets are on sale through Webook.

Planning a visit

If you are heading out this week, start with Boulevard City, which costs nothing to walk into, and save Boulevard World for Sunday or later, once the gates are open. Book ticketed entry in advance on Webook where you can, and build your evenings around the 4pm starts. Both of the big Hittin zones are night-time venues, and the district fills up quickly on opening weekend.

There is no need to rush. With around ten weeks still to run and new zones landing through November and December, Riyadh Season 2026 is a marathon dressed as an opening night. The season may start today, but on the evidence of the rollout, the best of Big Time is still to come.