Entertainment Sector’s Rise to Dominance in Saudi Arabia
An entertainment centre three times the size of Disney World Florida. An urban park four times the size of the Central Park. A sea project with a coastline spanning two hundred kilometres. A Dragon Ball theme park in the biggest entertainment city of the world. Ambition barely begins to cover what the Crown Prince has for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Travel, Tourism, and Entertainment are all priority sectors under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification initiative.
Saudi Arabia is an oil-driven economy - is a statement of the past. The progressive opening of the entertainment sector has spurred an exponential construction pipeline of movie theatres, theme parks, live mega events, and sports-related infrastructure. Backed by the Public Investment Fund, a series of giga projects have been launched in the Kingdom which focus on the growth of their entertainment industry.
By 2028, a total of $64 billion is to be invested in the entertainment and amusement industry. The ripple effects of this are to be seen in the construction, and tourism industry as well. In addition to this, another huge sector set to experience exponential growth as a part of this entertainment industry juggernaut, is events infrastructure. In January 2023, the Events Investment Fund came up with $7.5 billion in FDIs to develop the Saudi entertainment infrastructure by 2045, mainly in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Taif.[2]
One of the main players in the game is the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), established in May 2016, to regulate and develop the entertainment sector in order to make it a self-sustaining industry, in cooperation with relevant government authorities and the private sector. From theatrical and musical live shows to events like WWE King and Queen of the Ring, everything comes under GEA’s purview.
In sports entertainment, investment prospects are set to expand significantly, particularly in stadium construction, sports, and gaming solutions, paving the way for increased private and international collaborations. Saudi Arabia is on a mission to establish and host premier sporting events, drawing in esteemed global sports franchises, tournaments, and spectacles. The nation has successfully conducted major events such as the Diriyah ePrix, PGA European Tour, WWE Crown Jewel, the heavyweight boxing title bout Clash on the Dunes, the Saudi Cup Horse Race, and the Saudi Formula 1 Grand Prix.[3]
Qiddiya megaproject, Riyadh is planned to be the world’s largest entertainment city, featuring over three hundred leisure and entertainment facilities, including a 20,000-seat clifftop stadium, motorsports facilities, the world’s largest Six Flags theme park, a world-class waterpark, golf courses, cinemas, and a performing arts theatre. The Red Sea project will have a 200-kilometre-long coastline, a 28,000 km2 area, and a 90-island archipelago on the coast of Red Sea between Umluj and Al Wajh. At 13 km2 area, King Salman Park in Riyadh will be the largest urban park in the world. In addition, a media city was established in Riyadh to create a multiservice media ecosystem to support and enable content and talent creation. How exciting is that!
All this is merely the tip of the iceberg. The growth opportunities are tremendous, and Saudi is inviting companies who can contribute to its entertainment sector from across the globe to come and invest in the Kingdom, by giving benefits such as getting a 30-year tax holiday from WHT and Corporate Taxes, and 10 years of exemption from Saudization, just to name a couple.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is spearheading targeted support measures for the entertainment sector, aiming to contribute over $23 billion, equivalent to 3 percent of GDP, and create more than 100,000 jobs by 2030.[4] The country is also eyeing 100 million visitors annually by 2030, which will ride on the back of the entertainment industry.
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[1] Saudi Arabia Entertainment and Amusement Market Size
[2] The transformation of the entertainment sector in Saudi Arabia
[3] Saudi Arabia - Country Commercial Guide
[4] Saudi Arabia’s entertainment scene set to make a splash with aquaparks
