Riyadh Season is back bigger and better.
The arts and culture festival begins on Wednesday with thousands of events planned across the Saudi Arabian capital over five months.
With so much announced and scores more to be unveiled, here are 10 things to know about Riyadh Season as it begins.
1. What is it?
Basically, a five-month party in Riyadh.
Organised by the General Entertainment Authority, Riyadh Season will host 7,500 events covering everything from music and arts to food and sport.
2. When is it?
The arts and culture festival begins on Wednesday and runs until March 2022. Expect nearly all entertainment in the city to run under the banner of Riyadh Season and to be marketed accordingly on social media.
3. Where is it being held?
Riyadh Season will take place in an area measuring 5.4 million square metres and will be spread across 14 thematic zones.
This includes the food and family hub of Boulevard Riyadh City, the luxurious shopping district of Via Riyadh, the family leisure area Winter Wonderland, the desert dunes of Riyadh Oasis and the cultural hub of Khalooha.
For the full list of zones, click here.
4. What's there to eat?
There will be plenty of dining options across all zones, with more than 200 restaurants and 70 cafes set to take part.
While details of the venues that have signed up for Riyadh Season will be revealed soon, what we do know is that Via Riyadh will be the place for high-end restaurants and Oasis Riyadh will offer local and traditional dining experiences.
Al Murabba zone will also be the setting for up to 10 restaurants and cafes making their debut in the kingdom.
5. Who will perform?
Music lovers are in for a treat, with 70 concerts featuring regional artists and six performed by international acts.
A couple of acts have already been announced for this month, with rapper Pitbull performing as part of the Riyadh Season Opening Parade on Wednesday at Boulevard Riyadh City.
The Egyptian Orchestra will also be performing in the zone on Thursday, November 28.
More concerts will be announced soon.
6. What happened to MDL Beast?
One of the world’s biggest music festivals will return as part of Riyadh Season and under new name: Soundstorm.
Running from Thursday to Sunday, December 16 to 19, in a purpose-built location in the outskirts of the city, the festival recently announced its first tranche of headliners, including Deadmau5, Tiesto, Steve Aoki, DJ Snake and electronic music pioneer Jeff Mills.
Also to be launched in the run-up to festival is the XP music conference, from Monday to Wednesday, December 13 to 15. The event will gather the music industry’s leading creative and business minds for three days of discussions, workshops and masterclasses. It will take place at Jax in Riyadh's art district.
7. There will be football tournament
Get ready to see the man, the myth, the legend Lionel Messi in the kingdom as part of the Riyadh Season Cup.
To be held in January 2022, the tournament will feature the star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side (including the Argentinian superstar, Brazil’s Neymar and France wunderkind Kylian Mbappe) alongside local clubs Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
8. See the Crown Jewel
The WWE will return to Saudi Arabia with wrestling spectacular the Crown Jewel set to take place in Riyadh's King Fahd International Stadium on Thursday.
The event will have WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending her title in a triple threat match against Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks.
The bout will mark the third WWE women's wrestling match to take place in the kingdom, with the first being the 2019 encounter between Natalya and Lacey Evans.
9. There will be safety measures in place
At present, Riyadh Season is following the health and safety protocols outlined by the General Entertainment Authority in August.
This means only fully vaccinated adults will be permitted to attend events and activities. Children under the age of 12 will be exempt from the requirement if they do not show any Covid-19 symptoms, including fever, a cough, a runny nose or sore throat.
Riyadh Season tickets can be obtained through the kingdom's track and trace mobile application Tawakkalna and through the website.
Prior to entry, adults need to show they are fully vaccinated on the app, while children under 12 can gain access under the status of ‘Uninfected’ or ‘Not Exposed’.
10. Where can I find more information?
With the festival running until March 2022, it is best to keep track of all the latest events from the Riyadh Season and General Entertainment Authority’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook channels.
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Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)
Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
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ICC men's cricketer of the year
2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi
The specs
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Director: Ron Howard
2/5
