Saudi Arabia’s new entertainment city has been launched and will be two and a half times the size of Disney World
29 April 2018
| Last updated on 29 April 2018
Residents of Saudi Arabia are thrilled as the first entertainment, sports and cultural destination, Qiddiya, has officially been launched in the Kingdom on Saturday, April 28th and work to start on it soon. Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman both attended the ground-breaking ceremony that marked the start of the third Saudi mega-project, the other two being Neom City and the Red Sea luxury resort project.
The ground-breaking ceremony featured a live orchestra, a spectacular firework show as King Salman placed the last baton of the Qiddiya logo as well as a reading from the Qur’an and vocal performance. The event was not only to mark the launch of Qiddiya but also to attract local and international investors to the project.
Qiddiya is set so be Saudi Arabia’s new culture and entertainment hub
According to Qiddiya’s CEO - Michael Reininger – the park will operate on five cornerstones:
- Parks and attractions
- Motion and mobility
- Nature and environment
- Sports and wellness
- Culture, arts, and education
Furthermore, there will be retail, residential, and hospitality offerings to form a fully-integrated entertainment destination to support the development. Some of the activities at Quddiya that you can expect to see are theme parks, entertainment centers, sports amenities capable of hosting international competitions, training academies, desert and asphalt tracks for motorsport enthusiasts, water- and snow-based recreation, outdoor and adventure activities alongside nature and safari experiences, and an array of historical, cultural and educational activities and events.
Qiddiya is located on the Tuwaiq escarpment approximately 40 kilometres outside Riyahd. The total land size of the park is 334 sq km which is two and a half times bigger than Walt Disney World’s 110 sq km. Currently, this will be the world’s largest entertainment city by 2030.
_0.jpg?itok=qWsAUjFw "King Salman lays the foundation stone at the Qiddiya entertainment park")
Image Credit: Arab News
The first phase of the project is planned to open in 2022 while they are hoping to have completed the entire project by 2035.
This project is part of Saudi’s Vision 2030 to create alternative income sources and new job opportunities within the Kingdom. The project also aims to capture a portion of the money that Saudi nationals spend on entertainment abroad by providing them with new and unique entertainment options within the Kingdom. This project will specifically target local, regional and international tourists.
The CEO of Qiddiya, Michael Reininger, commented: “In creating Qiddiya, we are building a brighter future. One filled with culture, sports, entertainment, and the arts that responds to the Saudi people’s desire for new and accessible activities that enrich their lives.”
We certainly can’t wait to go and have a look at Qiddiya and spend some time discovering everything that they have to offer! We’ll add it to our bucket list once Saudi starts issuing tourist visas.
