Mon, Oct 19
Trending
Advertising · TrendSaudi ArabiaOct 19, 2026

Riyadh Season's 2026 guide sets dates for zones and headline events.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, has released the official Riyadh Season 2026 guide two days before the season opens. The 365-page booklet sets out each zone, its opening date and the headline events through early January.

Boulevard World opens on 25 October with new zones inspired by Yemen, Portugal, Uzbekistan and the Netherlands, and a Kingdom of Saudi Arabia zone of 13 areas built around local markets and products. Aldirah Winter follows on 1 November, Wonder Garden's rides and themed gardens on 18 November and the Ethnosport Culture Festival on 28 November. The Farmers' Market and Suwaidi Park programme start on 18 December, and The Groves will screen the AFC Asian Cup 2027 by its lake from 7 January.

The sports calendar opens on 31 October with Mexico vs The World, a boxing card led by Canelo Álvarez against Christian Mbilli. WWE Crown Jewel follows on 7 November and Zuffa Boxing on 13 and 14 November, with UFC and Power Slap nights also listed. Six Kings Slam closes the year from 27 December; Netflix, which streams it, gives 27–30 December at ANB Arena. A run of Arabic plays and family musicals fills the theatres from 22 October to New Year's Eve.

The booklet opens with the season's sponsor tiers (official premium, strategic and main partners, plus a commercial partner) and carries a page inviting bookings for the MENA Effie Awards gala in Riyadh on 26 November at VOX Cinemas. It gives no ticket prices or visitor target, and notes that final images and content are still being completed.

For brands, the guide turns a ten-week season into a usable calendar. Activations, media flighting and hospitality can now be timed to specific openings and fight nights rather than the season as a whole, while leaving room for late changes like the Six Kings Slam move.

Why it matters

Riyadh Season's zones and fight nights now have firm dates, so Q4 media, activations and sponsorship can be timed to specific footfall peaks, with room for late changes.

Related trends.

AdvertisingPolicyGCC

Dubai sets new content rules for outdoor ads, AI included

Dubai Municipality has launched Advertising Content Regulation Guidelines, one set of standards for what outdoor ads across the emirate say and show. They cover copy, images, logos, animation, digital and interactive formats, and take AI into account.

Why it mattersOutdoor creative in Dubai now has a written content standard, drawn up with AI and digital formats in mind. Until the full text is public, get a copy on 800900 and brief creative against it.

Oct 19, 2026Source ↗
AdvertisingCampaign · YouTube, TikTokGlobal

Victoria's Secret makes its fashion show a fan event

Victoria's Secret staged its 2026 Fashion Show in Los Angeles on 18 October and built it around fan participation. The plan ran from in-store ticket drops and a seven-part YouTube series to a global livestream and the brand's first post-show TikTok Live.

Why it mattersOne runway night became weeks of episodic content, store traffic and shoppable video. Gulf brands planning big events can copy the sequence: build-up series, purchase-linked access, shoppable stream, creator follow-up.

Oct 18, 2026Source ↗
AdvertisingData · RoundelGlobal

Target's Roundel: only 8% of advertisers judge on incrementality

Target's retail media network Roundel has spent years urging advertisers to judge campaigns on incrementality. Only 8% of its advertisers use it as their primary performance metric, a Roundel executive told an advertiser event in New York.

Why it mattersAttributed retail media sales include purchases that would have happened anyway. Ask each network for a holdout or matched-market test before scaling spend.

Oct 16, 2026Source ↗

Related work.