RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s events market rebounded over the summer, with ticket volumes rising 34 percent year on year in July and August following a difficult first half of 2026, according to a new report.
The recovery followed a 51 percent decline in ticket volumes in the first six months of the year, data from Saudi-based entertainment discovery platform Platinumlist showed.
The rebound was driven by volumes rather than higher spending, with the average ticket price falling about 40 percent to SR68.3 ($18.21) from SR113.1 a year earlier.
The number of organizers selling through Platinumlist also rose 2 percent year on year despite the first-half slowdown, with 90 organizers using the platform for the first time in 2026.
The recovery comes as Saudi Arabia’s entertainment industry expands under Vision 2030, alongside a National Tourism Strategy that aims to attract 150 million visitors by the end of the decade.
The General Entertainment Authority said the sector attracted more than 89 million visitors in 2025, with 1,690 events and 6,778 participating companies.
In the latest report, Platinumlist CEO Cosmin Ivan said: “Growing private-sector participation is one of the goals of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 entertainment agenda.”
He added: “The continued growth of Platinumlist’s organiser base, even during a difficult first half of the year, and the arrival of new market operators reflect that direction and help keep the event calendar active as audiences return.”
Comedy ticket sales quadrupled to 30,766 in 2026, while live sport more than doubled, helped by demand around FIFA World Cup fan zones.
Jeddah’s share of sales increased by around 300 percent over the past two years, while heritage events in Aseer more than tripled from 2024 levels.
“What we expect to see next season is a more distributed Saudi entertainment market. Riyadh and Jeddah will remain the major anchors, but growth will come from regions building calendars around their own audiences,” Ivan told Arab News.
He noted that more than half of the tickets Platinumlist sold in Saudi Arabia this year were for events outside Riyadh and Jeddah.
“We see opportunities ranging from seasonal programming in Taif to heritage-led formats in Aseer. The next stage of the market’s maturity is diversifying its hubs and formats at the same time,” he said.
Returning customers now account for more than 25 percent of buyers, up from around 10 percent two years ago.
“The recovery in demand reflects the growing maturity of Saudi Arabia’s events market, not only in entertainment but also across business events, exhibitions, and conferences,” Moath Al-Qahtani, events manager at Riyadh Exhibitions Co., told Arab News.
He highlighted that sustaining the growth will depend on greater event diversity, regional expansion and stronger experiences for visitors and participants.
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