LIONS Riyadh to Debut in Saudi Arabia in December 2027

Tahaluf is launching a new regional festival in Saudi Arabia. LIONS Riyadh will debut in December 2027, running from the 6th to the 8th at King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh.

The three-day event covers creativity, marketing effectiveness, culture and the future of the industry. Organizers expect it to gather CMOs, creative leaders, agencies, brands and emerging talent from the region and further afield.

Tahaluf announced the festival alongside LIONS and the Ministry of Media. Its stated purpose is to give Middle Eastern ideas and storytelling a bigger platform in the global creative conversation.

A creative economy under construction

Saudi Arabia has been spending heavily on its creative economy as part of a wider push to diversify. Film, fashion, gaming, entertainment, design and brand storytelling all feature in that plan. Local entrepreneurs, creators and businesses are increasingly looking past the domestic market. A festival that pulls international networks into Riyadh fits that shift, and it shortens the distance between Saudi talent and the people who commission, fund and distribute creative work.

What the ministry expects

Salman bin Yousef Al-Dossary, the Minister of Media, framed the launch as a chance to build on a long regional relationship with creativity and storytelling. He said both have deep roots in Saudi Arabia and across Middle Eastern culture, and that a new generation is building on that heritage with confidence, capability and ambition.

The ministry expects the festival to do several things at once: develop national creative capabilities, move knowledge across borders, bring in international expertise, and open opportunities for investment, partnerships and employment.

It is also intended to connect Saudi creatives to international networks and markets, which the ministry sees as a way to speed up growth for local creative businesses.

Riyadh's event portfolio

Faisal Al-Khamisi, co-chairman of the board at Tahaluf and chairman of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, described the launch as an important milestone. He pointed to the country's expanding roster of global sporting, entertainment, business and government events, including Formula 1 and LEAP, with Expo 2030 and the 2034 FIFA World Cup still ahead. Al-Khamisi called LIONS the most prestigious platform in creative marketing, and said the Riyadh edition reflects both Saudi Arabia's growing international significance and the wider Arab world's creative potential.

Not a replacement

Philip Thomas, chair of LIONS, said the region is entering a remarkable creative era, citing activity in film, fashion, gaming, design, entertainment and brand storytelling, and a surge of ambition powered by a young, fast-growing population.

LIONS Riyadh is meant to give regional professionals more access to global benchmarks, industry intelligence and learning, and to link local talent and businesses with international experience. It does not replace Cannes Lions, which stays the centerpiece of the global LIONS ecosystem and the international benchmark for creative excellence. Nor does it replace Dubai Lynx, the established MENA awards platform and regional benchmark. It joins a wider series of regional LIONS platforms built to make that expertise available throughout the year.

For regional founders, agencies, marketers and creators, the point is not simply another international festival closer to home. It is to make sure more of the ideas shaping the global creative conversation start in the Middle East.

Program details, speakers, participating brands and creative leaders are expected in the coming months.