Riyadh Season 2025 hits 1 million visitors in 13 days

Riyadh Season is surging on the back of a Macy’s co-produced opener, Joy Forum 2025, and a star-driven Six Kings Slam at ANB Arena.

Riyadh Season’s sixth edition opened with a city-wide celebration and, within less than two weeks, crossed the million-visitor mark. The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) chairman Turki Alalshikh called the milestone proof that the festival has matured into one of the world’s premier entertainment destinations.

The surge follows an opening parade co-produced with Macy’s, Joy Forum 2025 gatherings at Boulevard City, and the Six Kings Slam tennis showcase that brought a TV-ready field to ANB Arena.

What drove the early momentum

1) An opening parade designed for global attention

Opening night set the tone with a “first-of-its-kind” parade staged in collaboration with Macy’s, blending floats, light shows and performance art across Boulevard City. Staging it at the start of a long season gives the program a cultural anchor that is easy to market internationally and on social.

2) Joy Forum 2025 brought the business of entertainment to Riyadh

Joy Forum 2025 (Oct 16–17) convened entertainment leaders, creators and investors—positioning Riyadh as a deal-making hub and amplifying the Season’s B2B narrative. Reports around the forum highlight major partnership activity and multi-billion-riyal agreements, further professionalizing the ecosystem around the public program.

3) Six Kings Slam proved the sports-entertainment thesis

Riyadh’s made-for-broadcast Six Kings Slam returned with a six-player field that delivered night-session tennis to a global feed. Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the final to retain the title, while storylines around Novak Djokovic added star power.

The exhibition was distributed on Netflix’s channels and discussed widely across sports media, extending reach beyond ticket holders.

Riyadh Season By the numbers (so far)

• 1,000,000+ visitors in the first 13 days after the Oct 10 launch.
• Six Kings Slam: exhibition event, second edition, indoor hard at ANB Arena; Sinner champion.
• Joy Forum: convened global entertainment leaders at SEF Arena, Boulevard City, reinforcing Riyadh’s B2B positioning.

Why this matters for Discover: the combination of audience scale, recognizable IP (Macy’s, Netflix, top-3 tennis stars), and visuals from the parade and arena sessions creates fresh, mobile-first storytelling that matches Discover’s interest-based feed.

Key venues and zones to watch

• Boulevard City (BLVD City) — Parade hub, daily shows, fountains, food streets, and forum traffic on peak days.
• Boulevard World — Country-themed zones, lake shows and culture-first activations designed for families and tourists.
• ANB Arena / Kingdom Arena — Host arenas for premium sport and concert slates where broadcast crews, hospitality and security scale up quickly on event nights.

Sports and spectacles

Six Kings Slam delivered a clean arc: quarterfinal stars, a semifinal night with blockbuster pairings, and a title match scripted for the Sinner–Alcaraz rivalry. Commentary emphasized the show format, appearance fees, and how Riyadh fits the global calendar as an exhibition with top-tier production values.

Beyond tennis, the Season signals continued investment in premium sports programming—boxing cards, precision sports (snooker, darts), and creator-led formats—each designed to hit different communities while keeping attendance and dwell time high across the city.

Culture, creators and commerce

Sneaker, creator and pop-culture moments

The Season’s draw is broader than stadium nights. Creator-driven attractions, collectible culture and branded pop-ups (e.g., sneaker marketplaces and content-friendly activations) are built for social reach and repeat visits. That attention loop—experience, post, return—helps explain the fast visitor acceleration right after opening weekend.

Joy Forum’s commercial lens

While the public sees shows and fireworks, Joy Forum 2025 underlines the B2B side: global studios, streaming platforms, tech firms and live-events companies discussing pipelines, co-production, rights and touring.

Announcements around the forum referenced deal volumes in the billions of riyals, reinforcing that Season is both a cultural program and a services economy engine.

How to plan a great night at Riyadh Season

• Tickets & entry: many zones are free to walk, but premium attractions and arena programs are ticketed; always check gate, bag policy and your time slot before arrival.
• Timing: weeknights are calmer; Thu–Sat peak after sunset. Arrive 60–90 minutes before major arena shows to clear security and find your section.
• Getting there: ride-hailing to signed BLVD City drop-offs is easiest. Parking fills quickly on headline nights; follow P-zone signage.
• Families: start at Boulevard World for country zones, then catch the BLVD City fountain shows. Noise protection helps for arena events with pyrotechnics.
• Accessibility & prayer rooms: major gates include accessible routes, rental wheelchairs and prayer areas—ask attendants for the nearest location.