· 8 min read
Every October the city changes gear. Roads around Hittin fill up after eight in the evening, the arenas announce a fight or a final every other week, and a stretch of the north-west that is quiet for seven months of the year becomes the busiest square kilometre in the Kingdom. That is Riyadh Season, and if you are arriving between October and March you will end up there, so it is worth knowing how it works before you do.
Riyadh Season is the city's entertainment festival, run by the General Entertainment Authority since 2019. It is not one venue. It is a set of zones spread across the city, each with its own character, plus a calendar of concerts, sport and exhibitions that fills the arenas from October into spring. Last season had 11 zones, 15 world championships, 34 exhibitions and more than 200 concerts, and drew 17 million visits.
The biggest cluster is around the Boulevard in Hittin, in north-west Riyadh: Boulevard City, the free open-air district, sits beside Boulevard World, the ticketed one with the lagoon and the rides. Most first-timers start there. The other zones are a short drive away in different directions, and the arenas host the headline events.
The pattern is consistent: the Season opens in the second or third week of October and runs into March, with some zones staying open longer. Last season Boulevard World kept going until 2 May.
| Edition | Opened | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | 11 October 2019 | The first edition |
| 2021–22 | 20 October 2021 | |
| 2022–23 | 21 October 2022 | |
| 2023–24 | 28 October 2023 | 20 million visits |
| 2024–25 | 12 October 2024 | 19 million visits |
| 2025–26 | 10 October 2025 | Boulevard World open until 2 May 2026 |
| 2026–27 | October 2026, date to be announced | Six Kings Slam from 21 October |
The zones do not all open on day one. Last season Boulevard City and Boulevard World opened in the first weekend, Beast Land followed on 13 November and Boulevard Flowers on 18 November. If you want everything open at once, late November onwards is the safe window. If you want the opening-week atmosphere, the first Friday and Saturday are unlike anything else in the calendar.
This is last season's line-up, which is the best guide to this one until the new list is published. We will swap it the day the 2026–27 zones are announced.
| Zone | What it is | Entry last season | Go for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boulevard City | 900,000 m² open-air district in Hittin: more than 80 restaurants, concerts, theatre, arcades and a bowling alley | Free | Your first evening |
| Boulevard World | 24 country-themed districts around what is recorded as the world's largest man-made lagoon, with around 40 rides and more than 1,600 shops | SAR 30 weekdays, SAR 40 weekends; children under five free | A full evening, with children or visitors |
| Beast Land | The MrBeast theme park, around 27 rides and experiences | Ticketed | Teenagers |
| Boulevard Flowers | 200 million planted flowers, 200 floral sculptures, three Boeing 777s | Ticketed | A daylight visit and photographs |
| The Groves | Garden-set dining with seven fine-dining restaurants | Ticketed | A quiet dinner |
| Via Riyadh | Luxury shopping, cinema and restaurants beside the Ritz-Carlton in Al Hada | Free to walk in | Shopping, a film, a long lunch |
| Kingdom Arena | 40,000-seat arena with a retractable roof | Event tickets | Concerts, WWE, boxing |
| Roshn Front | Dining and retail in the north-east | Free to walk in | Dinner on the airport side of town |
| Al Suwaidi Park | Family park with live shows, six sub-areas, room for 12,000 | Free | Families on a weekday evening |
| Riyadh Zoo | 1,600 animals across 170 species | Free | Small children |
| AROYA Cruise | A Red Sea cruise counted as a Season zone | Cruise booking | A weekend away from the city |
WeBook is the official ticketing platform for the Season, as an app and a website, and it is the only place you should buy from. Zone entry is sold by date; arena events are sold per event; the bigger rides inside Boulevard World have their own tickets on top of entry. Your ticket is a QR code in the app, and everything is paid by card or Apple Pay.
Two habits make it painless. Book zone entry the day before on weekends, because weekend nights are the busiest and cost a little more. For the headline events, the concerts and the fights, buy the hour they go on sale. Those sell out fast, and the resale market is not worth the risk.
The Boulevard sits on Prince Turki Al Awwal Road in Hittin. There is no metro station at the Boulevard itself. The nearest is KAFD, where the Blue, Yellow and Purple lines meet, and from there it is a ten-minute taxi; our guide to the metro has the lines and fares. Careem and Uber are everywhere and have marked drop-off points. If you drive, parking is free and generous, and on Thursday and Friday nights it fills early, so arrive before seven.
From Al Sahafah it is about fifteen minutes by car; from our apartment in Hittin, a few minutes. If you are staying anywhere in north Riyadh, an evening at the Boulevard is an easy one.
Timing matters more than most people expect. Last season Boulevard City opened at 4pm and ran until 2am, and the evening really starts after eight. Arrive at six or seven, park, have dinner while the restaurants are quiet, and you will be settled when the concerts and the crowds begin. Weekday evenings are calmer than weekends throughout.
The weather is part of the pleasure. October evenings are warm, around 25°C. By December and January they can drop to 10°C after midnight, so bring a jacket for outdoor concerts. Those winter evenings are the best of the year in Riyadh.
Three headline dates are already confirmed for 2026–27, and more are announced every few weeks on the Riyadh Season site and in the WeBook app.
Last season also brought more than 200 concerts and 15 world championships across the arenas. If a specific artist or event is the reason for your trip, watch WeBook from September, when the first announcements land.
Stay north. The Boulevard cluster is in Hittin, in north-west Riyadh, and the arenas and most other zones are within twenty minutes of it. Hotels immediately around the Boulevard fill from October and price accordingly. A serviced apartment in Al Sahafah or Hittin puts you ten to fifteen minutes from the Boulevard, one metro stop from KAFD if you are combining the trip with work, and gives you a kitchen and a washing machine for a stay of a week or more. Our seven apartments are all within that range, and we can tell you which nights to go and which to skip.
Two evenings pair well with the Season. Diriyah, the heritage district twenty minutes away, runs its own quieter winter programme from November. And if you have a spare weekend, AlUla is under two hours by air.
For more on planning a visit, see the rest of our visiting Riyadh guides.
In October 2026. The exact opening date has not been announced as of 5 September. Every edition since 2021 has opened between 10 and 28 October, and the first confirmed event, the Six Kings Slam, starts on 21 October. We update this page the day the date is published.
Partly. Boulevard City, Al Suwaidi Park and Riyadh Zoo were free to enter last season, and Via Riyadh and Roshn Front are open destinations you can walk into. Boulevard World, Beast Land, Boulevard Flowers, The Groves and all arena events are ticketed.
On WeBook, the official platform, as an app or at webook.com. Zone entry is sold by date, arena events per event. Pay by card, show the QR code at the gate. Buy headline events the hour they go on sale.
They are next to each other in Hittin. Boulevard City is the free open-air district: restaurants, concerts, theatre, arcades. Boulevard World is the ticketed park around the lagoon, with 24 country-themed districts, rides and shops. Do City first, World the next evening.
Most visitors from Europe, North America, East Asia and the Gulf can get a tourist eVisa online in minutes at visa.visitsaudi.com, the official portal. It is valid for a year, multiple entry, for stays of up to 90 days. Check your nationality on the portal before booking flights.
Smart casual, with shoulders and knees covered. Comfortable shoes for the walking. A jacket for outdoor evenings from December onwards.
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