Seventh edition · Theme: Big Time
Riyadh Season 2026: dates, zones, events and tickets
Riyadh Season 2026 opens on Wednesday 21 October 2026 and runs for ten weeks, through late December and into the new year. It is the seventh edition, it carries the campaign line Big Time, and it is organised by the General Entertainment Authority under its chairman Turki Alalshikh. Tickets and schedules sit on Webook, the official platform.
This page tracks the confirmed dates, the zones that are open, what each one is for, and the transport that actually works on a Thursday night. Last checked 8 October 2026.
- 21 Oct 2026 opening day
- 10 weeks of programming
- 7,000+ events across the city
- 4 PM to late in the main zones
The essentials
Riyadh Season 2026 at a glance
The confirmed facts, with the date we checked each one.
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Edition | The seventh Riyadh Season |
| Opening day | Wednesday 21 October 2026 |
| Duration | Ten weeks, running through late December 2026 and into early 2027 |
| Theme | Big Time |
| Organiser | The General Entertainment Authority, chaired by Turki Alalshikh |
| Scale | More than 7,000 individual events across the season |
| Where | Zones spread across Riyadh rather than one site |
| Typical hours | Main lifestyle zones from 4:00 PM, closing at midnight or 2:00 AM depending on the zone |
| Official tickets | Webook |
| New for 2026 | Three Boulevard World pavilions: the Netherlands, Portugal and Yemen |
| Getting around | Riyadh Metro to KAFD station, then complimentary shuttles to the gates |
| Weather | Daytime highs around 22 to 26C, evenings dropping to 10 to 15C |
The format
What Riyadh Season actually is
Riyadh Season is not a venue. It is a ten week programme that takes over separate districts across the capital at the same time, each one built for a different kind of night out. One zone is a free street level district of shops and theatres. Another is a ticketed park of country pavilions. Another is a luxury retail quarter hosting a fashion exhibition. They run in parallel, on the same calendar.
That structure is why visitors get caught out. There is no single gate, no single ticket and no single map. Deciding which zone you want is the first real decision, and it is usually the difference between a good evening and three hours in traffic.
The 2026 edition is the seventh, and it is deliberately compressed: ten weeks rather than a longer run, with more than 7,000 individual events packed into it.
Confirmed fixtures
The headline events of Riyadh Season 2026
These are the dates published on official listings so far. The season adds programming in waves, so this table grows rather than arrives complete.
| Event | Date | Venue | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Six Kings Slam | 21, 22 and 24 October 2026 | ANB Arena | Exhibition tennis with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur. Broadcast on Netflix |
| Mexico vs The World: Canelo Alvarez against Christian Mbilli | 31 October 2026 | See the note below | WBC super middleweight title fight. Saul Canelo Alvarez challenges undefeated champion Christian Mbilli |
| Esports Nations Cup 2026 | 2 to 13 November 2026 | SEF Arena, Boulevard City | More than 100 countries across PUBG Mobile, Dota 2, Rocket League and more |
| WWE Crown Jewel | 7 November 2026 | Riyadh Season Stadium at KAFD | Champion against champion matches across WWE’s divisions |
| Riyadh Cat Show and Dog Village | 9 to 11 November 2026 | Riyadh Front Exhibition Center | Large scale public pet expo and competition |
| Ethnosport Cultural Festival | November 2026, exact dates not announced yet | Not announced yet | Heritage and traditional sports from around the world |
One caveat on the Canelo fight. Official listings we have seen place the 31 October bout at two different Riyadh venues: one names The Venue, another names Kingdom Arena. We are not going to guess which is correct, so confirm the venue on the Webook listing before you book travel or a hotel around it. Our fight preview is updated as the detail firms up.
Six Kings Slam
Three nights of exhibition tennis at the ANB Arena, opening the season on 21 October. Read our Six Kings Slam preview.
Canelo against Mbilli
The WBC super middleweight title on 31 October. Full build up in our fight guide.
Esports Nations Cup
Twelve days at the SEF Arena inside Boulevard City from 2 November. See our Riyadh esports coverage.
Where the season happens
The zones, and which one you actually want
Each zone is built for a different evening. Pick on that basis rather than on which name you recognise.
Boulevard City
The pedestrian core of the season: dining, shops, broadcast studios and live theatre, free to walk into, reopening with updated attractions for 2026. The SEF Arena sits inside it.
Boulevard World
The ticketed park of global cultural pavilions built around the BLVD Lagoon, with three new pavilions for 2026: the Netherlands, Portugal and Yemen.
Wonder Garden
An outdoor, garden themed amusement destination: family rides, games and large illuminated installations. The easiest zone to take young children to.
VIA Riyadh
The luxury tier district. For 2026 it hosts the Ana Arabia Exhibition, showing work from more than 250 female fashion designers and artists, alongside upscale dining and artisan pop-ups.
The Groves and Al Suwaidi Park
Heritage and botanical settings given over to global food festivals, traditional dance and outdoor lifestyle programming. See our Suwaidi Park guide.
Just finished
What ran before the 2026 season opened
Two things wrapped up in the run up to opening night, and both are useful for calibrating what the season does well.
- The QB Festival. A large gaming event at the SEF Arena inside Boulevard City, built around content creators and regional community tournaments.
- Al Murabba Gastronomy. A food programme that brought in international restaurant names including The Maine Mayfair and the Nakahara Japanese concept.
Booking
Tickets and how booking works
Webook is the official platform for Riyadh Season. Entry to the ticketed zones, seats at the arena events and most of the paid attractions inside the free zones are all sold there. Schedules are published there first.
- Entry to Boulevard City is free. You pay for the attractions, theatre shows and arena events inside it.
- Boulevard World needs a pre booked mobile ticket, from 29 SAR on weekdays and 58 SAR at weekends, with under fives free.
- Arena events are ticketed individually and priced per event, not per season.
- There is no single season pass that covers everything. Anyone offering one is not selling an official product.
- Line-ups are released in stages, so a zone with little listed today may be full a fortnight later.
We are an independent guide. We do not sell tickets and we take no commission, so every figure here points back to an official listing with the date we checked it.
Practical
Visiting: transport, weather and timing
Take the metro
Traffic around Boulevard City and Boulevard World is the single biggest complaint visitors have. Ride the Riyadh Metro to KAFD station and use the complimentary shuttles that run to the gates.
Dress for a cold evening
Riyadh winter days sit around 22 to 26C, but evenings drop to roughly 10 to 15C. Most of the season is outdoors and after dark, so take a jacket or a sweater.
Go early or go late
Gates open at 4:00 PM. Arriving close to opening, or after 10:00 PM, avoids the worst of both the queue and the crowd.
Planning a stay around it? See our guide to the best hotels near the Boulevard district, and what is on in Riyadh this week for the next few days.
From the desk
Riyadh Season coverage
Event previews, zone guides and season reporting from our team.
Answers
Questions visitors ask
Each answer carries the date we checked it.
When does Riyadh Season 2026 start?
Wednesday 21 October 2026. It runs for ten weeks, through late December and into the new year.
What is the theme of Riyadh Season 2026?
Big Time. It is the seventh edition of the season, organised by the General Entertainment Authority under its chairman Turki Alalshikh.
How long does Riyadh Season last?
Ten weeks for the 2026 edition, which is a shorter and denser run than some earlier years, with more than 7,000 individual events inside it.
Where do I buy Riyadh Season tickets?
Webook is the official platform. Zone entry, arena events and paid attractions are all listed there. There is no single pass covering the whole season.
Is Riyadh Season free to attend?
Partly. Boulevard City is free to walk into and you pay only for what you do inside it. Boulevard World and the arena events are ticketed separately.
What are the opening hours?
The main lifestyle zones open at 4:00 PM and close at midnight or 2:00 AM depending on the zone. Boulevard City runs to 2:00 AM, Boulevard World to midnight.
Which zone should I go to first?
Boulevard City if you want dining, shopping and a free walk around. Boulevard World if you want rides and the country pavilions. Wonder Garden if you are bringing young children.
What is new for 2026?
Three new Boulevard World pavilions: the Netherlands, Portugal and Yemen. VIA Riyadh hosts the Ana Arabia Exhibition with work from more than 250 female designers and artists, and the Esports Nations Cup comes to the SEF Arena.
What should I wear?
Layers. Riyadh winter days reach roughly 22 to 26C but evenings fall to about 10 to 15C, and most of the season happens outdoors after dark.
How do I avoid the traffic?
Riyadh Metro to KAFD station, then the complimentary shuttle to the gates. Driving to Boulevard City or Boulevard World on a weekend evening means queueing on the approach roads.