SEA (Saudi Entertainment and Amusement) Expo, the Middle East’s largest gathering of leisure and entertainment professionals, will take place from 28 – 30 May 2023 at Riyadh’s International Convention Centre, allowing attendees to find out more about some of the multi-billion-dollar plans for the Kingdom’s entertainment and leisure industry.
Saudi Arabia is stepping up attempts to substantially develop its entertainment, cultural, and leisure market into a multi-billion dollar economy as part of its social and economic blueprint Vision 2030, all while transforming the nation into a major tourist destination.
Saudi Arabia’s public sectors have undergone significant changes over the past few years, creating brand-new sustainable cities along its coasts and deserts and bringing in much foreign investment. However, no change has had a greater impact than its total revamping of the entertainment and leisure sector. With experts predicting that the industry will grow at an annual rate of 47.65% and anticipating that the sector as a whole will sit at roughly USD 1.17 billion at the end of the decade, the country has announced that it will invest USD 64 billion into the market from 2020–2030.
An optimistic outlook
A key goal of this year’s SEA Expo is to draw attention to these investment plans, trends, and initiatives. The event, which is taking place concurrently with the Saudi Light and Sound (SLS) Expo, will cover the spectrum of the country’s entertainment sector while firmly placing an emphasis on the future.
“With plans from the Saudi Entertainment Ventures (Seven) to invest USD 13.3 billion to develop 21 integrated entertainment destinations in 14 cities, to the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) issuing licenses for more than 24 theme parks and 421 entertainment centres, the outlook for Saudi Arabia’s entertainment, leisure and tourism market over the next 7 years is overwhelmingly optimistic,” says Sarkis Kahwajian SEA Expo director, a part of DMG Events.
“Saudi Arabia is currently unrivalled in its ability to rapidly grow and cultivate their entertainment and leisure industry and at this year’s SEA Expo we want to demonstrate through our summits and on the show floor how the industry has evolved over the last few years and showcase what it has to offer over the next decade.”
International partnerships
The nation’s entertainment industry has placed a lot of emphasis on international partnerships. Saudi Entertainment Ventures, a division of PIF, has partnered with a number of international brands, including Warner Bros. Discovery, Clip ‘n Climb, and Mattel for its development of new entertainment destinations, in addition to purchasing 100% of US-headquartered AMC Entertainment Holdings in the Kingdom.
The GEA has so far granted 3,370 permits for live performances and 4,198 permits for entertainment, giving the entertainment sector in Saudi Arabia a boost.
With two summits and a 300+ exhibitor directory, SEA Expo will bring together industry experts from the Middle East and beyond to examine the current entertainment, leisure, and cultural market, network with experts from the private sector and government, and learn about the future of the nation’s entertainment sector through knowledge sharing and discussion with some of the top experts in the region.
To register for SEA Expo 2023, please click here.
