One of the region's biggest cultural festivals will return to Saudi Arabia in October. Riyadh Season, an entertainment extravaganza in the Saudi capital, will begin on October 12 with scores of events taking place across the city.
According to Turki Al Sheikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and organisers behind Riyadh Season, the new iteration will reportedly take place in areas and venues spread across 7.2 million square metres. A new entertainment zone will be on offer as well as next year's return of the annual Joy Awards, a gala ceremony celebrating the best in Arabic film, television and music.
With more to be announced soon, here is what we know so far about the event.
1. You'll be able to experience culture at Boulevard World
Boulevard World, the entertainment zone at the heart of Riyadh Season, will be part of the new season. Relatively similar to Dubai's Global Village, it has more than a dozen pavilions dedicated to international countries and regions.
After impressing visitors last year with the debut of the Egyptian pavilion, including a recreation of the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx, Boulevard World returns this year with five new pavilions. The most prominent will be Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Africa and the French Alps ski resort Courchevel.
Last year's site spanned 1.2km in length and increased by 40 per cent, according to organisers. It has also been connected to the nearby Boulevard City via a three-minute cable car ride.
2. New areas dedicated to Harry Potter, fashion and retail
Riyadh Season will return with the Harry Poter Experience. The 25,000-square-metre park is dedicated to the magical world of the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. The Harry Potter experience is said to be inspired by similar attractions at Universal Studios theme parks in Osaka and Florida.
Also set to have its premiere is the Boulevard Runway, which will be dedicated to fashionistas. The 140,000-square-metre site is a collaboration with Lebanese designer Elie Saab and will be home to numerous events and showcases throughout the month. Details of the zone's location are yet to be revealed.
BLVD Business Park also promises to be an eye-catching attraction. Developed with Saudi Airlines, the space features three Boeing 777 aircraft converted as retail space including restaurants.
3. There will be concerts at Boulevard City
Where Boulevard World is about culture, Boulevard City is all about entertainment. Since launching in 2019, the permanent 81-hectare site has become a major drawcard for locals and tourists with various events – from e-sports competitions to Ramadan family festivals – throughout the year.
However, it is during Riyadh Season where Boulevard City shines, with a soon to be announced full programme of concerts and exhibitions. Bad Boys star Martin Lawrence will headline a standup comedy evening as part of the new season with a date and venue to be revealed soon.
Last year's calendar of events included sold-out concerts by pop stars Post Malone, Elissa and Wael Kfoury as well as a museum dedicated to footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
4. Expect an eclectic menu
Riyadh Season is also a haven for foodies, with nearly all of its 14 entertainment zones home to both permanent and pop-up restaurants and food trucks serving international cuisine from the Levant to Latin America.
Those looking to take their taste buds on adventure should visit Boulevard World, where the major pavilions – including India, Spain, France and Spain – have in-house restaurants serving local favourites. The South Korean pavilion is home to a popular Asian-inspired outdoor market.
Meanwhile at The Groves, a 35,000-square-metre entertainment and retail zone located in Riyadh's plush Diplomatic Quarter (also known locally as Al Safarat) will also re-open for the season with its own menu. Expect an eclectic array of restaurants, from food trucks to dinner and show concepts.
Last season's popular spots were the South African barbecue restaurant Zama Zulu and the Zodiac Garden, with its Mediterranean-inspired dance shows and cuisine. Details of this season's new and returning establishments will be unveiled soon.
5. Expect top sporting events
Riyadh Season has established itself as a sporting powerhouse at home and abroad. Ahead of the new season launch in October, the anticipated boxing match between heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and new IBF interim heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois will take place in London's Wembley Stadium under the Riyadh Season Card moniker.
In Saudi Arabia a new high-profile tennis tournament called Six Kings Slam will run in Riyadh in October. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are among six tennis players – who have 50 combined Grand Slams between them – that will compete in an exhibition tournament with dates and venue to be announced soon.
Also on the cards are the Riyadh Season Padel Championship and the World Snooker Masters 2024.
6. Go out and explore the other zones
With Riyadh Season meant to activate various areas of the city, the event is an ideal reason to savour the sights and sounds of the city. The festival has other zones worth experiencing such as Souq Al Awaleen, a traditional outdoor market paying tribute to Riyadh heritage, and the ritzy Ramla Terraza home to upscale fashion houses and fine dining restaurants.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat
Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final
UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv
Dunbar
Edward St Aubyn
Hogarth
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
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
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
